Leiden University Student Repository

Zeilstra, Ingrid (2026)

"Love Seeing the Oddities": How Macabre Human Objects Become Spectacles in the Museum

Bachelor thesis | Kunstgeschiedenis (BA)

Analysis of five contemporary museums through comparison with the notions of the Wunderkammer, vanitas still life, and freakshow shows that these museums create a spectacle out of macabre human and human-related objects through their forms of display (reminiscent of the Wunderkammer, memento mori vanitas still life paintings, and freakshow’s oddities entertainment). This is problematic because it holds no consideration for the people these objects are sourced from or made up of; it reduces them to a spectacle. Instead of this way of exhibiting, a more mindful way of display (which values providing context and carefully considering what objects to exhibit and how) would still satisfy visitors’ curiosity while remaining respectful of the people behind the oddities.

spectacle

human display

Wunderkammer

vanitas still life

freakshow

Author

Zeilstra, Ingrid

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Arts, Media & Society

Supervisors

Yang, P.Y.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en