Takeshi Yamada | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘Takeshi Yamada’

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.

Sea Rabbits Swim Ashore in Coney Island, Up For Adoption

Posted in Animals, News, tagged April 1, April Fool's, Coney Island, Conyne Eylandt, local, news, Rabbit Island, sea rabbit, Takeshi Yamada on April 1, 2013| 8 Comments »

The sea rabbits that swam ashore on Coney Island beach near West 28th Street on Easter Sunday will be up for adoption today. This unique sea-dwelling rabbit was believed to be extinct in the wild until yesterday, when two fishermen walking west on the beach towards Sea Gate saw several of the web-footed rabbits scurrying ashore. “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” said Mikey, a resident of Avenue U, who had come to Coney to fish from the pier but found it closed for repairs. A local animal rescue group picked up the sea rabbits and plans to put them up for adoption or foster care.

ATZ was unable to reach Dr. Takeshi Yamada, the world-renowned expert on the species, for comment on the discovery. Yamada is currently filming the AMC TV reality series “Immortalized.” According to his research, the sea-rabbit is a close relative of the sea lion, and was officially discovered and investigated by Henry Hudson when he first visited this land to colonize the area for the Dutch government. Coney Island was named Conyne Eylandt –Rabbit Island– by the Dutch.

The above photo shows two sea rabbits which are in Dr. Yamada’s care at the Coney Island Sea Rabbit Repopulation Center in Brooklyn, New York. They are Coney Island Sea Rabbit (Monafluffchus americanus) called “Seara” and Coney Island Tiger-striped Sea Rabbit (Monafluffchus konjinicus) called “Stripes.”