The Mütter Museum is an extraordinary, world-famous medical history library in the heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Yet today, it stands at the heart of a national ethical controversy regarding its acquisition of human remains. Founded in 1963 by local surgeon Thomas Mütter, the museum holds roughly 35,000 objects, including 6,000 biological specimens. Among its more colorful artifacts are 139 human skulls, collected by a 19th-century Austrian anatomist. It contains the bones of people with rare medical conditions.
Society is more sensitized than at any other point in history to the moral issues of exhibiting human remains. As the Mütter Museum continues to struggle with these questions of respect and representation today, the museum, led by Anne Pasternak, has made waves over the past year with their new Postmortem Project. This two-year initiative will re-contextualize its collection and ignite conversations about decolonized practices within medical history. This move follows the critical backlash to the abrupt cancellation of the museum’s beloved annual Halloween event, Mischief at the Mütter. Critics called foul, saying the attraction was disgusting and profiting off human bodies for entertainment value.
The Collection and Its Controversies
The Mütter Museum’s collection has often been misunderstood as a grotesque freak show. Prominent in these installations are the cast figures of two adult Siamese twins. They feature tiny slices of Albert Einstein’s brain and the skeleton of an unknown 2.29-meter giant. Joseph Williams’ megacolon, which measures an impressive 8 feet (2.4 meters) long, lends a stunning focal point. Next to it, an interactive donor display vividly tells the story of her life.
These exhibits have generated more than a little controversy raising ethical questions of whether it is appropriate to display human remains. Valerie DeLeon pushes for more ethical representation in museums. She courageously challenged the practice of displaying things without regard for the sensibilities of the communities they purport to speak for.
“Are thinking about the people that are represented in those collections. And you know, did these people choose to be there? Are they being exploited by having their skeletal remains on display for ‘entertainment’?” – Valerie DeLeon
This spirit hits home at the heart of the current conversation around consent, representation, and discrimination in museums.
Re-evaluating Ethical Practices
Under pressure from activists and other stakeholders, the Mütter Museum has started to acknowledge that it needs to rethink its practices. The Postmortem Project is meant to inspire public thought and discussion about its displays. Activists from Protect the Mütter have celebrated this process as an important first step, but still insist that all representation must be done with dignity and respect.
“Let this example of acromegaly be respectfully displayed and help future generations better understand an ongoing condition that continues to affect people every day,” – Protect the Mütter activist.
The larger goal of the project is to challenge and address our practices of displaying human remains. It aims to pay respect to the histories and stories of the people they’re representing. Sara Ray, an advocate, pointed out that the conversation should focus on how to honor these individuals while tracing medical history.
“The issue isn’t whether we should or shouldn’t exhibit human remains,” – Sara Ray. “But rather, can we do so in a way that does justice to these individuals and their stories as we trace the history of medicine, bodily diversity, and the tools and therapies developed to treat them?”
This continuous reassessment has had a profound impact on the museum. In 2020, a heart transplant recipient donated his old enlarged heart to be added to the collection. The museum has publicly and vocally committed to high ethical standards. In fulfillment of that commitment, the platform deleted hundreds of videos from its YouTube channel.
Community Engagement and Future Directions
The Mütter Museum’s initiative to better engage with its community is part of a greater movement within the museum field to reconcile with communities for past injustices. A news story about the museum’s announcement quoted Kate Quinn, a spokesperson for the museum. They want to include a range of viewpoints as they proceed toward ethical representation.
“We didn’t want to dramatically change the museum. That was never the intent. The intent was to bring people into the conversation and bring us along this journey as we’re trying to figure it out,” – Kate Quinn.
This commitment to dialogue aims to transform how institutions like the Mütter Museum approach sensitive topics related to human remains and medical history. They encourage frank conversations and genuinely solicit community feedback. This thoughtful, nuanced approach serves to both educate the public while honoring those they represent in their collections.