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Sideshow Gallery 15
"Takeshi Yamada's
Museum
of
World
Wonders:
Coney
Island
Circus Sideshow"
Artist’s Statement
 I
regard myself as a “Visual Anthropologist” and my artworks as a “Visual
Encyclopedia” because they are furnished with comprehensive descriptions
and cross-cultural anthropological research behind them. With my
creations, I have had over 400 fine art exhibitions including 42 solo
shows at museums, universities, nature centers, fine art galleries, art
centers, and midways internationally.
My recent super-realism
artworks reflect my investigation of the unique and distinctive culture
of Coney Island area of Brooklyn, New York. This culture is called
“Coney Island Sideshow”. At one time, Coney Island was much bigger than
Disney World, Six Flags and Hollywood combined. Coney Island was
literally the center of entertainment culture and the universal hub
where the most spectacular beauties, curiosities, oddities, monsters and
marvels were gathered from around the world to satisfy the human mind,
intellect and imagination.
At the sideshow, I was
particularly fascinated by the series of “specimens” of mythic creatures
on display, which are called “gaffs”. Gaffs are a form of highly
specialized hyper-realism sculptures simulating artifacts of curiosities
and oddities (some are completely fictional, such as Fiji Mermaid and
Jackalope) displayed at the pay-per-view sideshows behind large, vividly
painted large banners. Historically, gaffs have been a vital part of the
“Cabinet of Curiosities” (also known as Wunderkammer or wonder-room).
The cabinet of curiosities was a collection of natural history specimens
kept and often displayed in cabinets by many early practitioners of
science (and they were symbols of wealth, social status and power by
international trade merchants) in the early 16th century in Europe, and
were precursors to today’s natural history museums.
With these in mind, I
have created over 500 post-super-realism and neo-taxidermy artworks
simulating the treasures of the cabinet of curiosities. Examples of them
are 6-feet Fiji Mermaids, 5-feet Chupacabra, 31-feet giant sea serpents,
dragons, two-headed babies, shrunken human heads, fossilized fairies,
nuclear radiation giant stag beetles of Bikini Atoll, Canadian hairy
trout, New York City giant subway bugs, king tarantulas, Mongolian giant
death worms, two-headed snakes, four-legged turkeys, vampire monkeys,
Chinese flesh-eating mushrooms, two-headed and six-fingered alchemist,
human-faced insects, artifacts of the Dreamland Fire of 1911 in Coney
Island, relics of ancient civilizations, sea rabbits of Coney Island,
giant prehistoric horseshoe crabs, alien specimens collected by the Area
51 US military base, and Coney Island brand exotic canned foods, among
many others. With my collection of curious, odd and mysterious
specimens, artifacts and artworks at Takeshi Yamada’s Museum of World
Wonders, I want to celebrate one of the primal desires of human nature,
which seeks the mystery and wonders of the universe.
Takeshi Yamada, 2007
Above
photograph by Charles Denson - Courtesy of Takishi Yamada
"Museum
of World Wonders" Exhibition by Takeshi Yamada
is displayed here by request of Takeshi.
Now Step Right this Way to Experience the
Artwork of Takeshi
Yamada
|
Link - Articles - New Artwork - Press. |
click to read articles
|
click on above images to read articles
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CABINET OF CURIOUSITIES
Art Lecture & Workshop by Takeshi
Yamada
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 |
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Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
The
following article features Takeshi Yamada’s participation
in the “Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids” exhibition
at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, New York in
2007 and 2008. Yamada was featured in a documentary film, art
performances, art demonstration, and art lecture about the
exhibition events. This manuscript was produced by Dr. Eriko N.
Bond, noted art critic and book author in New York City, as told
by Yamada.
|
Cindora at Coney
Island Beach - 6 foot Rogue taxidermy - Collection
of "Tyler
Fyer's Lucky Daredevil Thrillshow"
|
Click On The Photos Below To View Full
Size.
Limulus polyphemus
- Kabutogani (Warrior’s Helmet Crab in Japan; Horseshoe Crab
in the United States) is a “living fossil”, and as such has outlived
the most famous of fossils--the dinosaur.
Click here
|
|
The Cabinet of Curiosity
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Prehistoric Giant Horseshoe Crab
(Limulus giganteus)
34"x10"x3"
|
Prehistoric Giant Horseshoe Crab
(Limulus phoenix)
30"x12"x4" |
Nuclear
Radiated
Giant
Tailed Stag
Beetles
of Bikini Atoll
(Male &
Female) |
Nuclear
Radiated
Giant
Stag
Beetle of
Bikini Atoll
15"x10"x3" |
|
Nuclear
Radiated
Giant
Stag
Beetle of
Bikini Atoll
(adult male
head)
in display
case |
Warrior's Ceremonial Mask,
excavated from the ruin of the Palace of Ocean (Painted on the
Horseshoe Crab)
17"x11"x3" |
Warrior's Ceremonial Mask (with feathers),
excavated from the ruin of the Palace of Ocean
36"x23"x3" |
Princess Otohime
(dragon's daughter) riding on the back of the Warrior's Helmet Crab,
excavated from the ruin of the Palace of Ocean
22"x10"x3" |
Chupacabra
Details of
head
blood-sucking monster believed to live in
Mexico,
Brazil and on the island of
Puerto Rico |
|
Chupacabra
5
feet
blood-sucking monster believed to live in
Mexico,
Brazil and on the island of
Puerto Rico
Collection
of Museum of World Oddities, Florida) |
Mummified
6-fingered Hand |
Homunculus
(artificial human
created from human sperm)
created by Paracerusus
in 16th century
(mummified body parts) |
Hairy
Trout |
Egyptian
Cat Mummy |
|
Fiji
Alligator
Canned
Food |
Jackalope
Canned
Food |
Spiny Bullfrog
Canned
Food |
King Tarantula
Label |
Giant Vampire Bat
Label |
King Piranha
Label
(Private
Collection)
|
Giant Perubian
Vampire
Moth
Cocoons
|
Coney Island
School of Wizardry
Artifact collected at Dreamland Fire of 1911 in Coney Island
|
Coney Island
Voodoo
Shoppe
Artifact collected at Dreamland Fire of 1911 in Coney Island
(Private
Collection) |
Coney Island Anthropological
Institute
Artifact collected at Dreamland Fire
of 1911 in Coney Island
|
|
Coney Island
Mermaid World
Artifact collected at Dreamland Fire of 1911 in Coney Island
|
Fossilized Fairy
(Nympha juncea) |
Giant Cockroach
Fossil
six-inch
(Collection
of Museum of World Oddities, Florida) |
Fiji-Mermaid
Detail |
Fiji-Mermaid
49 inches |
The
universal egg in the following portraits is a symbol of alchemy; a
perfect container of time, space and life.
|
6-Fingered
Nobleman
In
Blue
32"x24"
oil
on canvas |
2-Headed
6- Fingered Alchemist
32" X 24"
oil on
Canvas
|
6-Fingered Doctor
32" x 24"
oil on canvas
(with two goddesses)
|
6-Fingered Philosopher
32" x 24"
oil on canvas
(with three goddesses) |
6-Fingered
Merchant
32" X 24"
oil on
Canvas |
|
6-Fingered
Warrior Prince
48"x 36"
oil
on canvas |
Battle
of
Coney
Island
48" x 72"
oil on
canvas
|
Takeshi
Yamada
as
a Horseshoe Crab Warrior at the Annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade
in 2003 - with Helen Pontani of "Pontani Sisters" |
Takeshi
Yamada
as
a Horseshoe Crab Warrior at the Annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade -
with 2 Mermaids in 2003 |
Two-headed
Dragon Tailed Green Snake |
|
Exhibition Sign
Takeshi Yamada's six-fingered hand |
Exhibition Sign
Takeshi Yamada's six-fingered hand |
Exhibition Sign
Takeshi Yamada's six-fingered hand |
Six
Fingered Gloves |
7-Fingered Hand |
|
Mermaid's
Knife
|
Two-headed Baby
with 12
fingers & toes |
Shrunken
Human
Head
(Collection
of Museum of World Oddities, Florida)
|
Japanese
Ceremonial Dragon Tooth of Chiho-Shinto enshrined in the altar |
Japanese Ceremonial Dragon Tooth of Chiho-Shinto |
|
Sperm Whale Tooth Scrimshaw
|
Human-faced Fly |
Mongolian Giant Death
Worm
Collection
of Museum of World Oddities, Florida) |
New York
City
Giant
Subway Bugs
|
Two-faced
Baby |
Posted here with the permission of
Takeshi Yamade
Click Here to See
Takeshi Yamada’s Works at Theaters/Amusement
Park
By
Eriko N. Bond
To Read Click on Curtain Above
Review
by
Allison Devers in The Brooklyn Rail.
Critical perspective on arts, politics, and culture.
July/August 2005 Issue
Click
Here to Read
No artwork may be
reproduced, reposted or used in any manner except that of viewing
without the express written permission of Sideshow WorldTM or
the copyright holder. If you would like to be include in our sideshow
art gallery please
drop us a line
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.JPG)
%20of%20Dragon's%20palace%20riding%20on%20the%20back%20of%20the%20Warrior's%20Helmet%20Crab%20(horseseho%20crab),%20excavated%20from%20the%20ruin%20of%20the%20%20Palace%20of%20Ocean.JPG)
