Mummy Art?

At what point do human remains stop being sacred and become art? Can they be both? I was shocked and fascinated to see a wrapped body laying in a display case in the new Egyptian gallery at the Nelson-Atkins. That was a real person a few thousands of years ago, and now it has been reduced to "human remains, linen, and wool." I stared at the mummy for fifteen minutes trying to understand why I was so transfixed. At first, I reasoned that photographs and paintings of corpses are classifiable as art, so why not the primary objects? But while a painting of an apple is art, fewer would argue that the apple itself is. The human body is necessary in performance art, and the skin is colored by tattoos. In a sense, then the body is already considered a medium. But then there are the Bodies exhibits. For me, those cross some inner line of decency, especially if the subjects are nonconsensual. This may be the root of my uneasiness: the man who now rests in our museum never consented to be displayed in this fashion. To my way of thinking, mummification was not an artistic expression as much as it was a solemn religious ritual. The Nelson-Atkins even seems to acknowledge this with a plaque next to its mummy explaining (and encouraging the viewer's participation in) the ritual chanting of certain phrases for the ka's nourishment.

If I am to observe the mummy as art, is it any different that considering Christian relics as art, too? How many saints' various body parts are enshrined in elaborate reliquaries to be displayed for the pious to look upon; how many of those have found their ways into art museums? The display box for the saintly fingers are what are considered art, though; surely not the actual finger. Likewise, the elaborate coffins for the deceased Egyptian are exquisitely decorated and unarguably an art form. I can't say that I agree with a corpse being classified as art, though I can't help but be fascinated by the object, however sad I may be for the poor soul's current resting place.

Of course, I may be being too sympathetic. His ka might think it's comical that hundreds of people stand gawking at the old body. I wonder if there's a ritual chant we could use to find out?