FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Medical Curiosities Captured on Film

Photographs from the Mütter Museum
September 10 – November 27, 2005

August 17, 2005 – Sacramento, Calif. – One of the most thought-provoking and viscerally powerful shows that the Crocker Art Museum has ever offered, this new exhibition, Extraordinary Bodies, is composed of photographs from Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum, one of the original museums of 19th-century medical history.

Featuring images of the human body and its anatomy, works by premier contemporary photographers Olivia Parker, William Wegman, Joel-Peter Witkin and others are juxtaposed with the Mütter’s renowned historical photography collection. Together, images old and new extend the boundaries of traditional photographic subject matter, finding beauty not in conventional forms, but in the deformed, broken and disfigured bodies suffering from physical abnormality, trauma or destructive disease.

Both beautiful and horrific, this exhibit offers a rare glimpse into the singular mysteries of the human body and an opportunity to encounter first-hand the powerful, inspiring and enthralling images of nature’s challenges to human life. Accordingly, the images in this exhibit may be disturbing for sensitive or younger viewers.

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The Crocker Art Museum was founded in 1885 and continues as the leading art institution for the California Capital Region and Central Valley. The Museum offers a diverse spectrum of special exhibitions, events and programs to augment its collections of Californian, European and Asian artworks. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday – Sunday; Thursday until 9 p.m. For more information on exhibits and events call (916) 264-5423 or visit crockerartmuseum.org.

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Media Contact: LeAnne R. Ruzzamenti
Media: (916) 264-1963
Mobile : (916) 213-9402
Public: (916) 264-5423
216 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
www.crockerartmuseum.org