October 22, 2006

Update: Long Island Bigfoot

Cameron Gainer, the artist who created this sculpture, shares with Cryptomundo details concerning this piece of art, including the construction and public response of his rendition of the Patterson-Gimlin film subject.

The sculpture has been discussed here on Cryptomundo in the following posts.

Long Island Bigfoot Photo

More on Long Island Bigfoot Photo

First a few details on the construction of Patty.

I welded a steel armature covered it in a metal lath and then fiber glassed the form.

Next I hand modeled the hands, feet, and face using a two part non-toxic sculpting medium and glass eyes. The final step was adhering the faux fur. I chose a fur with a longer nap than what is traditionally recognized in frame 352. This longer length sways a bit in the wind and creates a bit of movement in the form. The seams are not visible, but the wind does cause the fur to part in different areas, giving the illusion of a visible seam. The sculpture is anchored into two concrete footings below the feet.

Click on image for full size version

The scale is accurate to what the subject in the footage has been calculated to be. It has a walking height of 75.5" and would have a standing height of 81". I modeled the head and face from digital representations created by Reuben Steindorf under the direction of Doug Hajicek. These illustrations can be seen in Christopher L. Murphy’s book "Meet the Sasquatch". There is obviously a large degree of interpretation because the original footage does not have any clear detail of the face.

I chose to recreate this iconic pose because of the controversial circumstances of its creation. Specifically because the footage is viewed as either "documentary" footage of a living creature, or as complete "fiction" as a constructed hoax. There are convincing arguments to both sides of belief.

In the history of photography there are several historic and iconic images that have shared the same controversy. The most well recognized is perhaps the infamous photograph by Jo Rosenthal "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" and the questions about this authentic or staged event, it was eventually proven to have been authentic. The second most well known image under similar controversy is a photograph by Robert Capa titled "The Falling Soldier" also now widely regarded as authentic.

As an artist I work in sculpture, video, and photography. This project involves all three disciplines through video and photographic documentation of the sculpture and the viewers interaction with it.

The public response has been quite positive. A large part of this project involves the photographs and poses that visitors to the park have been creating with the sculpture. In this way it has taken on a life of its own as people post their photographs to flickr and other photo sharing sites.

I really appreciate all the honest criticism and feedback from the forum and will keep you updated as the project continues.

Filed under Bigfoot, Bigfoot Report, Cryptozoology, Museums, Pop Culture, Sasquatch