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Biomedicine in museums

What is art work in a medical museum exhibition?

By September 22, 2007No Comments

In an earlier post I mentioned Annebeth Meldal’s still life of surgical remains in the new hospital exhibiton at the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology (NTM), Oslo.

Another interesting way of displaying hospital remains is this trolley with used hospital instruments thrown out by the medicotechnical department at the Norwegian National Hospital in week 45, 2006:

 

 

But unlike Annebeth Meldal’s installation, the trolley and its contents is not identified as an art work — this sign only tells us about the factual content in the trolley (in Norwegian):

So what are the criteria for labelling the first display as art, and the other as a dull trolley with cassated instruments?

Thomas Söderqvist

Author Thomas Söderqvist

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