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

 

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

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

The universal egg in the following portraits is a symbol of alchemy; a perfect container of time, space and life. 

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 World^TM 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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