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Takeshi Yamada & Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest Return to Bell House

Posted in art, Events, tagged Bell House, Carnivorous Nights, Freak Baby Museum, gaff art, Jersey Devil, rogue taxidermy, Takeshi Yamada, taxidermy on April 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Takeshi Yamada and his Jersey Devils at the Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest in 2011. Photo © Takeshi Yamada

The last time Takeshi Yamada competed in the Secret Science Club’s Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest was in 2011, when he won the “Shock and Awe Award” for his Jersey Devils. He also brought along a freak snake human baby and his constant companion the Sea Rabbit Seara. The Coney Island artist and rogue taxidermist will unveil his newest wonders and curiosities when the event returns to Brooklyn’s Bell House on Sunday evening. The contest was not held in 2012 and 2013 due to Superstorm Sandy, Yamada says.

Rogue Taxidermy by Takeshi Yamada via takeshiyamada.weebly.com

At the 2009 contest, Yamada was awarded “The Most Twisted Prize” for his family of freak show babies made from his own skin. There’s a Two-headed Baby, Mermaid Baby, Octopus Baby, Lobster Baby, Snake Baby, Penguin Baby, and Three-headed Baby. Yamada also won the Grand Championship of Taxidermy in 2006 for his 6-foot-long mummified Fiji Mermaid. She’s the one he tried to bring for a ride on the Cyclone roller coaster during the Mr. Cyclone Contest!

Yamada, who has an MFA in fine art from the University of Michigan School of Art, considers his artwork “specimens” rather than examples of self expression. His new website shows examples of his rogue taxidermy artwork for sideshows and amusement parks, as well as TV shows and museum collections. There are also links to fan videos like this one from 2009 in which Yamada is the outside talker for his Freak Baby Museum in Coney Island. Special today, $1.00!

The Secret Science Club’s Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest, Sunday, April 6 at the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd Aves) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Doors 7:00 pm, show at 7:30 pm. This event is 21 and over. $12 advance, $15 at door. Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

UPDATE April 19, 2014:

Congratulations to Takeshi Yamada for winning the grandmaster’s prize in the Secret Science Club’s contest. He was awarded first prize for his “Five-headed Monster from Hell” and “Giant Space Alien Skull.”

Coney Island Artist Takeshi Yamada’s Post-Sandy Odyssey

Posted in art, tagged Coney Island, Hurricane Sandy, Immortalized, Odyssey, rogue taxidermy, Sandy, Takeshi Yamada on April 4, 2013| 2 Comments »

Before Sandy: Takeshi Yamada with Baby Mermaid in his Coney Island Studio. Photo via AMC Immortalized

Tonight at 11 PM, Coney Island artist and rogue taxidermist Takeshi Yamada competes against a challenger in a “Heaven and Hell”-themed taxidermy contest on the 8th and final episode of AMC’s reality series “Immortalized.”

“I really don’t care about the others, Takeshi is the only one I want to watch,” says one of his fans on the series’ Facebook page. We agree, but he is one of our Coney Island friends. Yamada and his sea rabbit Seara are often seen strolling on the Boardwalk and we missed their usual promenade on New Year’s Day and Opening Day. The pair have been on an odyssey since Sandy. Says Yamada:

One of the themes of the show was “Odyssey.” It was exactly what happened. I faced Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy tried to kill me. It actually destroyed my house with over five feet of water lashing into my sculpture room, bedroom, and living room. And I saw it before — that is why I shipped my first art work [for Immortalized] a week before. If I hadn’t sent it, it would have been completely destroyed.

In Episode 3, “Odyssey,” which aired in February, Yamada displayed a bat-winged, dragon-tailed five-headed goat/fox monster with dragons circling above it and a hand-painted backdrop depicting hell. The “Heaven and Hell”-themed taxidermy art will be revealed in tonight’s episode.

Video of the Day: Meet Takeshi Yamada of “Immortalized”

Posted in art, Television, video, tagged AMC, Coney Isalnd, Immortalized, Immortalizer, rogue taxidermy, Takeshi Yamada, taxidermy on January 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This clip for AMC’s new reality show “Immortalized” introduces Coney Island artist Takeshi Yamada and his world of rogue taxidermy. It’s exciting to see our friend and his sea rabbit Seara, who are among the Boardwalk’s most recognizable eccentrics, on the cusp of TV stardom.

“People love freak show. People are attracted to freaks,” says Yamada as he shows off the taxidermied oddities in his Museum of World of Wonders. “I am one of the most famous freak show gaff masters. A freak show gaff master’s job is to make fake creations such as Fiji Mermaid, Chupacabra, Hairy Trout, those kind of things…”

In the unscripted series, Yamada is one of four “Immortalizers” who will face off against challengers in a taxidermy competition. “I had a great time creating truly monumental scale and spectacular rogue taxidermy monsters for this TV series,” Yamada told ATZ in an interview (“Coney Island Taxidermist Takeshi Yamada in AMC Reality Show,” Nov 29, 2012). “Immortalized” consists of eight, half-hour episodes and premieres on Thursday, February 14 at 10pm.