This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

Further into Imperfecta Living Curiosities: Agency and Exploitation of the Teratological Body Curiosity draws us to the monstrous. But seeing is believing: whether in a book, a museum, or in a show, for centuries people have flocked to see “monsters” for themselves. In the 19th century, many people born with non-normative bodies performed as “freaks” in circus sideshows. Circuses became a sensation and they served as a forerunner to the modern entertainment industry. This exhibit explores the lives of the performers and showmen whose livelihoods depended on the public’s curiosity about seeing wondrous bodies for themselves. Seeing is Believing: Visualizing the Teratological Body When it comes to the wondrous, seeing is believing. From this page, you can explore some of the ways that “monsters” have been depicted over the centuries. Woodcuts in early modern texts, preservation in medical museums, and photography all have been used to display people. These technologies allowed one person’s image to travel across the world and allowed their subjects to “survive” beyond death. What Does It Mean to be "Other?" What does it mean to be a “monster?” What does it mean to be “normal?” These are not objective categories. They have changed meaning throughout history as people have become exposed to a wider diversity of nature, people, and ideas. From this path, you can explore some types of “Otherness” that have, throughout history, challenged apparently objective categories and shaped the direction of science.

Figure de la beste Thanacth

This page is referenced by:

Wood Cuts In the early modern period (1500-1750) images in texts were created by using woodcuts. An artist would create the image by carving it into a block of wood. The surfaces left after carving then appeared black when rolled with ink and pressed to the page. Monsters-- and wonders of all sorts-- were popular subjects of these texts, especially early medical texts. These books, like On Monsters and Marvels by Ambroise Paré (1510?-1590), told background stories about the “monster” and provided an image to go with the story. Oftentimes, the physician had not actually seen the monster himself but only heard about it through others. This is why many of these woodcuts look so fantastical. Toad heads on human bodies, a baby with angel wings and a single eye, or people who appear as patchworks of various animal parts; these images indeed look strange and wondrous. Perhaps these strange images are a result of people’s descriptions when recounting stories of travel, or perhaps they are meant to be metaphorical.