Mortuary Science: Restorative Art / Restoration / Demisurgery / Embalming

After the initial shock from the graphic content, I launched into a research frenzy. I love research! Strangely enough, I did not come up with much except for some repetitive (read: copied) definitions on various websites. The jist of it is that Restorative Art, along with embalming, is our modern-day, Westernized version of the ancient art of body preservation after death.



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Restorative art today is the process of reconstructing or restoration, especially facial and cranium features, of bodies that are badly damaged from accident or disease, for presentation in the casket at the funeral.

The major mortuary colleges offer courses in Restorative Art or Restoration Embalming and it takes serious training to become accomplished. Some funeral home directors may hand over this type of work to specialists.

And this is what the film is all about - training the students in this speciality. The scenes show the students working "hands on" with the instructors as they are shown various restoration techniques.



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Strangely enough, if you put the words "restorative art" in your favorite search engine, you come up with as many links for embalming as for restoring works of art. As I considered my luck in running across these two cannisters of film, I also considered how it relates to my interest in art.

Watching the footage it became apparent that not only did the successful student need to know anatomy, they also needed to be an expert sculptor! The up close and personal view of the students at work, gruesome as it is, gave me a new-found respect for morticians. Their job is tough, as they must have a profound spiritual connection to both the living and the dead, and possess scientific and artistic skills. A strange connection to art...

I debated what to do with the films, deciding finally that they should be converted to digital format. I figured that the historical and technical aspects of this 1938 footage were bound to interest morticians, and no doubt pique the curiosity of many mortals.



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