The following photographic-rich article features the Jackalope which is one of the most popular monsters seen at Dime Museums (a pay-per-view exhibitions of curiosities and oddities produced by sideshows in America.) This manuscript was produced by Dr. Eriko N. Bond, an active art critic and author in New York City, as told by Yamada and edited by Diane M. Taros. 

Detail of “Coney Island Brand Exotic Canned Food: Mountain Jackalope” by Takeshi Yamada, 2004

Takeshi Yamada’s Jackalopes

The more Takeshi Yamada researched the creativity, artistry, psychology, art, culture, history, and medical conditions of the Jackalope, the more he was impressed and inspired by this magnificent monster.

In 2004, Yamada created an artwork/gaff of Jackalope to be the part of the Takeshi Yamada’s Museum of World Wonders in Coney Island. (The jargon “gaff” means the man-made super realism specimen/artifact exhibited to generate profits in the business of the American sideshow.) Nevertheless, for this time, his Jackalope was not a simple taxidermy artwork like the ones which he was commissioned for a local curiosity shop in the past.

His new creation inspired by the Jackalope this time was a simulation of the today’s American food industry, consumer culture, supply chain industry, stream-line production of goods for masses, packaged foods and today’s pop art, and pop culture. It was not even a taxidermy of an animal at all. It was an artwork of the spirit rather than the flesh. It was a form of a conceptual artwork.

Note: Conceptual art is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Conceptual art emerged as a movement during the 1960s in America.

In production, he utilized today’s sophisticated high-tech computer and software, created high quality fine art drawings electrically, designed/formatted the artworks on the computer monitor, and printed them in his state-of-the-art 7-color photograph printer on the photograph papers. He created a series of artworks in this format featuring 80 species of animals. Yamada called this group of Simulationism artwork (Neo-Geo artwork) “Coney Island Brand Exotic Canned Food”.

Note: Simulation, Simulationism, Simulacrum are concept of new art movement at the beginning in 1980s. Artists started creating artworks which emphasizes appropriation of multiple objects or images form contemporary culture as a comment on the whole notion of originality. Examples of artists excelled in this art movement are Barbara Kruger, Sherrie Levine, and Allan McCollum.

“Coney Island Brand Exotic Canned Food: Mountain Jackalope” by Takeshi Yamada, 2004

The detail of the head of Yamada’s Jackalope showing numerous small protruding horns.

It should be noted here that Yamada’s Jackalopes have many small horns protruding from its head. These horns are never seen at any Jackalopes created by other taxidermy artists or graphic artists. “With extra horns on its head, my Jackalope is more realistic to the real horned rabbit in the wild infected by Shope papillomavirus”, Yamada says. (For more information of Shope papillomavirus and reality of horned rabbits, see Part 4.)

“Coney Island Brand Exotic Canned food: Mountain Jackalope” by Takeshi Yamada, 2004

“Coney Island Brand Exotic Canned Food: Jackalope” by Takeshi Yamada, 2006

As a virtuoso of dipping pen & ink drawings, Yamada also created a series of artwork rendering Jackalopes in the style of the Italian high Renaissance draftsman such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Small examples of them are shown below.

Two Jackalopes by Takeshi Yamada, pen and ink drawing on paper, digital enhancement, 2006

Jackalope by Takeshi Yamada, pen and ink drawing on paper, digital enhancement, 2006

Flying Jackalope by Takeshi Yamada, pen and ink drawing on paper, digital enhancement, 2006

Jackalope on the plaque by Takeshi Yamada, pen and ink drawing on paper, digital enhancement, 2006

Yamada’s Sea Rabbits

In the beginning of 2006, Takeshi Yamada created a new species of monster. This marine animal was born as the counterpart of the Jackalope.

Yamada’s new creation has the head of the rabbit, body of the seal, arm of the platypus, hands of the duck, no hind legs, and (hair-covered) tail of the sailfish. In short, it is a rabbit version of the mermaid. Yamada named this sweet beach dwelling monstrous creature the Sea Rabbit. (It was also named Seara.) Yamada also created the second one with a slightly larger body and with stripes. He named this magnificent animal Tiger-striped Sea Rabbit. (It was also named Stripes.)

(left) Sea Rabbit (right) Tiger-striped Sea Rabbit by Takeshi Yamada, 2006

Takeshi Yamada’s Sea Rabbit was first exhibited at an exhibition for public entitled “Takeshi Yamada’s Museum of World Wonders: Rare and Extinct Marine Creatures” at the Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus in July 2006 on the occasion of the New York State Marine Education Association Annual Conference.

An exhibition of curiosities of Takeshi Yamada’s Museum of

World Wonders at the Long Island University in 2006

The Sea Rabbits entertained millions of people at Coney Island Beach especially during the beach seasons.

  The Sea Rabbit and she friends at the Coney Island Beach, 2006.

Yamada’s Sea Rabbit (and 4-feer Fiji mermaid) also appeared at the annual taxidermy contest at union Hall sponsored by Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists (MART) and won the Grand Champion award on October 28, 2006. (www.roguetaxidermy.com) The birth of Sea Rabbits also led him to create a series of fantasy egg-laying marine mammals such as Sea Gerbil, Sea Ferret, Se Squirrel, Sea Raccoon in 2006. These were all exhibited at his solo art exhibition entitled “Rare and Extinct Marine Creatures” at the Salt Marsh Nature Center in Brooklyn, New York in 2006.

(Left) Yamada with Fiji Mermaid, Giant Terrestrial Carnivorous Planaria, Skull of Giant Sea Serpent,

Surf Merman, and Scale of Giant Sea Serpent (The Sea Rabbit sits quietly on the display case.)

(right) Promotional exhibition flyer featuring the picture of the Sea Rabbit

For more information about Sea Rabbit, see following websites.

http://sideshowworld.com/TYSeaRabbit.html

http://sideshowworld.com/TY_SeaRabbit_Jack.html

http://www.roguetaxidermy.com/members_detail.php?id=528

(Continue to Part 4)

All rights reserved by Takeshi Yamada, November 2006. Museum of World Wonders in Coney Island, 1405 Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11224, USA.

E-mail: yamada108@aol.com

Special thanks to Eriko N. Bond, Lauren D. Travis, and Diane M. Taros.