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The following photograph-rich 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 on 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.

Takeshi Yamada at

“Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids”

American Museum of Natural History

New York, New York

Part 3

Promotional color poster created by Takeshi Yamada and Dr. Eriko N. Bond

(Photograph by Leslie Van Stelten, 2006)

Yamada’s Art Demonstration on June 24, 2007

On June 24, 2007, between 1pm and 5pm, Takeshi Yamada undertook a public art demonstration and a mini Mythic Creatures Sideshow Exhibition as the part of the “Mythic Festival” at the Hall of Ocean Life on the 1st floor of the American Museum of Natural History. Yamada appeared in his signature tuxedo, tie, beret, and many dozens of New Orleans Mardi Gras beads.

Note: Yamada says he wears a tuxedo every day, even when he works on his bloody taxidermy artworks or vividly colored canvas paintings at his home, because his unique outfit “looks good at any time, any place and any occasion”. He considers the tuxedo to be a timeless, universal and perfect uniform for an artist.

The event poster produced by AMNH

In addition to Yamada’s live taxidermy gaff demonstration, the festival also included other cultural and educational attractions such as the “Mythic Shadow Puppet Creatures” by Kim McCormack, “Haitian Mythic Bottle Painting” by Kesler Pierre, “Vejigantes Stories from Puerto Rico” by George Zavala, “African Kanga Masks of Dogon” by Sandra Bell, “Face Painting” by Chinese Theatre Works, “Chinese Dragon Workshop” by Chinese Theatre Works, and “Wayang Puppet Workshop” by Gamelan Dharma Swara. The Mythic Festival also included “Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory: Mythic Stories and Tales” at Kaufman Theater, and “Curator’s Lecture: Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & mermaids” at Linder Theater. The performers in the Kaufman Theater also included Gamelan Dharma Swara, La Troupe Makandal, Chinese Theatre Works, and Unicorn & Dragon performances by Wan Chi Ming Hung Gar Institute.

For a full schedule of the events, see following website:

http://www.amnh.org/programs/specials/mythic/

Above: Yamada dons white surgical gloves to work on his mummified mermaid baby.

Below: Yamada displays the completed mummified mermaid baby

(Photographs by Dr. Eriko N. Bond)

During his art demonstration in his art exhibition section, Takeshi Yamada worked on his in-progress rogue taxidermy artworks such as the Fiji mermaid, the 2-feet giant lizard clam and the 5-feet giant sea dragon. Yamada showed people his “high speed fish skin degreasing jar”, and let spectators touch the processed fish skin ready to be mounted for his taxidermy sideshow gaff artworks. Yamada also showed pages of a medical book “Retinoic Acid Metabolism Blocking Agents in hyperkeratotic Disorders” (the cover of which feature pictures of Yamada’s mummified Fiji mermaid) by Christel J. Verfaille, which illustrates a horrifying real skin illness that transforms the skin of people into the scales of a fish. This illness is the complete reversal of the mermaid princess that becomes human in the romantic European folktale “Little Mermaid”. Yamada also spoke about the Japanese mythology of the horseshoe crab for patrons.

During the event, over 50 pieces of Yamada’s rogue taxidermy sideshow gaff super realism artworks from his “Museum of World Wonders” were also exhibited. Examples included the 5-feet giant killer worm, the 4-feet Fiji mermaid, the 3-feet giant killer clam, the 3-feet giant sea dragon, the 30-inch dragon skull, and the 3-feet dragon/winged lizard, among other fascinating specimens and artworks. To make his display more interesting, Yamada brought several varieties of the various forms of taxidermy artworks including 100% pure Victorian taxidermy such as the giant Atlantic horseshoe crab; the recreation of real animals in the prehistoric time based on the fossil records of Limulus giganteus; partially enhanced natural specimens such as the giant sea dragon; fabrications of various mythic creatures using natural/man-made materials to create realistic appearance and textures for his mermaids and dragons; simulation/fabrication of real deformed animals such as the Canadian hairy trout; simulation of modern era fictional monsters/marvels including the nuclear radiation giant stag beetle of Bikini Atoll; and pure artworks such as the Coney Island brand exotic canned foods. These taxidermy artworks were displayed side by side intentionally to confuse people’s perception of reality and fantasy. These works are listed below:

Exhibition #1

1. Sea Rabbit “Seara”

2. Giant horseshoe crab

3. Chupacabra snail

4. Marsh nautilus

5. Hairy trout

6. Prehistoric giant horseshoe crab, Limulus phoenix

7. Nuclear radiation giant stag beetle of Bikini Atoll

8. Mongolian giant death worm in a jar

9. March 2007 framed color poster of Yamada’s Coney Island Library show

10. May framed color poster of Yamada’s Coney Island Library show

11. Framed Museum of World Wonders color poster

Exhibition #2

12. 20-foot, 300-lb python cast-off skin

13. Horseshoe crab mask in red

14. Horseshoe crab mask in blue

15. Dragon skull

16. Coney Island Brand Exotic Canned Food (nautilus, paper nautilus, Jackalope, Japanese fugu, mermaid’s toe nail, Fiji alligator, rainbow sea slug, coconut crab, Imperial 4-legged Turkey)

25. Giant killer sea cucumber

26. Sea elephant tusk

27. Framed news interview article (Village Voice)

28. Framed news interview article (Time Out New York)

29. Museum of World Wonders, framed sign in 1911

30. Sea Rabbit, plate in 1911

31. Dragon, plate in 1911

32. Sea dragon, plate in 1911

33. Sea devil, plate in 1911

34. Sea elephant, plate in 1911

35. Ribcage squid

36. “High-speed degreasing jar” with fish skin, fins, degreasing agent

Exhibition #3

37. Fiji mermaid, 4 feet

38. Medical book (RAMBAs in Hyperkeratotic Disorders) with Yamada’s mermaid on the cover

39. Giant killer Klingon worm

40. King tarantula (framed canned label)

41. Surf merman, large

42. Giant alligator clam

43. Giant dragon clam

44. Giant carnivorous snail

45. Sea rabbit, “Stripes”

46. Sea rabbit, Color drawing on paper

47. 2 color poster of Yamada’s Coney Island Library show

48. December 2006 framed color poster of Yamada’s Coney Island Library show

49. January 2007 framed color poster of Yamada’s Coney Island Library show

50. Prehistoric horseshoe crab, limulus giganteus

For more information about the Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids, see following website. www.amnh.org/mythic

(Continue to Part 4)

E-mail: yamada108@aol.com

Special thanks to American Museum of Natural History, Ellen Silbermann, Lauren D. Travis, Maremi Kakushina, Abraham Morris, Dr. Eriko N. Bond.

Proofreading by Theresa Baker

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