The Morbid Anatomy Library and Museum at Proteus Gowanus, Brooklyn.



The Morbid Anatomy Library and Museum is at first glance a contextless, odds-and-ends jumble of bones, dusty taxidermy, vintage coleoptery and lepidoptery, various Catholic and Day of the Dead iconography, dead animals in bottles, doll parts, body casts, anatomical diagrams, and assorted dental and surgical tools. What does it all mean, what can it all mean, taken separately, taken together?







But the more you take in the collection, the more you absorb the different items, it suddenly dawns on you - it's death. Death is what unites this collection of assorted strangeness. Specifically, the many ways in which we try to study it, collect it, bottle it, stuff it, draw and diagram it, classify and cubbyhole it, put little bows and ribbons on it, spin fanciful tales about it, joke about it, and yes, photograph it, all the various ways in which we ourselves attempt to deal with it (or, perhaps more specifically, to not deal with it). And if that collection is a bit messy, a bit mad, even utter nonsense... Need I say more?













We all live our lives hoping that by the end of it we'll be able to face death without fear. For some people, this means living a life of courage and loving without regret. For others, this will involve putting a little hat on a dead duck and sticking it under glass.



People are funny. We are. And that's probably why I love us, even when I hate us.







I think we're gonna be just fine.