September 21, 2009
The designing of a new museum space is like a vast canvas, waiting for volunteer decorators, budding curators, student artists, and, well, maybe a volunteer muralist or two, willing to donate a painting. The ICM can supply the wall, paint, audience and fame!
Some of what happens is that certain “wish list” items come to mind. For example, I am trying to obtain the donation of a famed piece of German fake taxidermy art, the Bavarian Wolperdinger, to go in the section of the exhibit with the furred trout, FeeJee Mermaid, and jackalope:
But what of bigger dreams? I never have a shortage of those. Ha, I need some extra display cases and floor lamps too. đ
The International Cryptozoology Museum (opening soon thanks to the The Green Hand) includes one vast wall inside that is 15 feet tall by 20 feet wide. There’s an exterior masonry one outside, but I’m not sure I could get permission to have that surface painted.
Would a mural inside look good, I’m asking myself? Would a scene of a phantasmagoria of cryptids work? Perhaps a painting of merely the jungles of Africa – with hidden animals unseen, celebrating the homeland discoveries of the okapi, mountain gorilla, and off the coast, the coelacanth (mirrored in our logo) – and the species yet verified – reinforcing an international theme?
Are you a muralist from Maine, New England, San Francisco, New York or anywhere, looking for a wall? Get in touch with me directly (here), as soon as possible. Be prepared to share your art style with me, in a followup email.
It has been successful in other places.
Duane Flatmo’s Willow Creek, California, mural depicts a kinder, gentler Bigfoot.
Thadeus Greenson of The Times-Standard wrote, in part, about the artist’s painting last July:
Having already painted oversized murals on the likes of the Eureka Co-op and the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts, as well as a host of other local buildings, Flatmo recently expanded his reach, completing a massive piece overlooking State Route 299 from the wall of the new Shafer’s Ace Hardware in Willow Creek.
The mural, Flatmo’s longest to date at 14 by 167 feet, depicts Willow Creek’s most famous resident, Bigfoot.
But, Flatmo said he chose not to depict the creature as a menace, but rather as a helpful friend.
âIt’s just a fantasy idea, something I’ve always thought would be cool,â Flatmo said, explaining that the mural depicts a friendly Bigfoot helping settlers construct their homes. âIt just shows him getting along with everybody.âJack Rieke, owner of Shafer’s Ace Hardware in Willow Creek, said he’s always wanted to get Flatmo to do a mural for him, but that the idea was never possible at the Eureka store. But, when plans developed to open the Willow Creek store, Rieke said he made sure the store was constructed in such a way as to accommodate a mural.
âPeople love it,â Rieke said of the mural, adding that he’s installed lights to keep the mural vibrant even at night. âWe’ve gotten nothing but compliments on it.â
Join the past patrons and benefactors like the BCSCC, Matt Walker, David Pescovitz, John Hodgman, and Kevin Hemenway in supporting the International Cryptozoology Museum as it opens in downtown Portland, Maine.
Please click on the button below (not the one up top) to take you to PayPal to send in your museum donation.
If you wish to send in your donation via the mails, by way of an international money order or, for the USA, via a check (made out to “International Cryptozoology Museum”) or money order, please use this snail mail address:
Loren Coleman, Director
International Cryptozoology Museum
PO Box 360
Portland, ME 04112
Thank you, and come visit the museum at 661 Congress Street, Portland, Maine 04101, beginning November 1, 2009!! This educational/scientific/natural history museum is not a 501(c)3.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the worldâs leading cryptozoologists, some say âtheâ leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sandersonâs Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Colemanâs daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Filed under Bigfoot, Cryptomundo Exclusive, Cryptotourism, CryptoZoo News, Museums