Museum Showcasing Morbid Anatomy Set To Open In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A new museum was set to open in Brooklyn this weekend, promising a fascinating journey into the dark side.
The Morbid Anatomy Museum was set to open Saturday at 424-A Third Ave. in Gowanus, Brooklyn. A preview party was also held Friday night.
The ribbon-cutting will include a ``spirit photo booth'' and traditional mourning food from a cookbook titled ``Death Warmed Over.''
But creative director Joanna Ebenstein told The New York Times the museum's mission is serious. It grew out of Ebenstein's private collection of over 2,000 books on death rituals, the human body and esoterica.
"I didn't know there was any history like this," Ebenstein told 1010 WINS. "In our culture, we don't talk about that. We don't look at that. And since then I've been kind of intrigued with not only finding those things and showcasing them, but trying to encourage people to ask their own questions about it – for example, why do these things seem so odd to us?"
The three-story museum is in a former nightclub. Highlights at the opening exhibition, ``The Art of Mourning,'' include a brooch made from human teeth.
There is also a 1850s shadowbox containing a Madonna surrounded by a memorial wreath made of locks of a deceased loved one.
The museum will also display casts of body parts used for medical teaching, antiques, and articulated skeletons – as well as taxidermy for sale, Ebenstein told 1010 WINS.
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