Leseprobe

JULIA BIENHOLZ-RADTKE AND MANUEL VOJTECH INTRODUCTION TO THE “TRANSPARENT FIGURES” COLLECTION HOLDINGS The set of Transparent Figures objects within the body-historical col- lection of the Deutsches Hygiene-Museums (DHMD) encompasses more than 7,500 objects. The core consists of twelve full figures man- ufactured between 1935 and 2000. The collection also contains a large number of corresponding objects, like materials and tools from the manufacturing process, catalogues and brochures for sales, ex- hibition equipment like pedestals and tape players, as well as histor- ical photographs. The diverse objects originate mainly from the in- house production of the museum and document the complex man- ufacturing, exhibition and reception history of the Transparent Figures in the 20th and early 21st centuries. More background information on the history of the DHMD with its exhibition activity and teaching materials production can be found in the archival documents of the museum in the possession of the Säch- sisches Staatsarchiv (Saxon state archive), Hauptstaatsarchiv (central state archive) Dresden. The twelve Transparent Figures in the collection holdings form a re- presentative cross-section of the product portfolio of the museum, which has changed over the decades. Of the at least ten different figure types 1 manufactured by the DHMD since 1930, six are docu- mented with the collection holdings. The following figures are present in the DHMD: ❚ a Transparent Man from 1935 ❚ a Transparent Woman from 1935/36 on permanent loan from the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum) in Berlin ❚ a Transparent Man from 1962/63 ❚ a Transparent Cow from 1982/83 ❚ a Transparent Pregnant Woman from 1985 ❚ two Transparent Cells from 1987 and 1988 ❚ two Transparent Men from 1992 and 1995 ❚ three Transparent Women from 1980 (renewed 2006), 1999 and 2000 In some cases, the figures still have their original accessories, like pedestals, operation consoles and headphones, audio tape systems TRANSPARENT FIGURES IN THE DHMD 132