 | Artist Tony Falcone (right) and apprentice Victor A. Visockis outline the design of the floor mural in charcoal. |
While the science involved in piecing together the evolutionary history of humankind is the focus of "Fossil Fragments: The Riddle of Human Origins" (See related story), it is the workmanship of numerous artists and artisans that helps make the newest permanent exhibition at the Peabody Museum of Natural History a unique experience for visitors.
Those entering the exhibition can walk upon a mural of an actual archaeological site, see first hand how scientists recreate images of human ancestors from fossil fragments and run their hands over the bronze skulls of early hominids.
One highlight of the exhibition is a floor mural by New England artist Tony Falcone that is based on drawings by paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey of Olduvai, an archaeological site in Africa. As visitors enter Leakey's archaeological site, they appear to be walking over bone fragments and stone implements, scattered along the ground just as the archaeologist excavated them. The display is designed to help visitors understand the immense challenge of piecing together this evidence.
Falcone is best known for his realistic "imaginistic" landscapes, cityscapes and monumental murals gracing numerous public spaces. In creating the Peabody mural, the artist began by spattering epoxy paint in five colors, one at a time, onto a finished epoxy floor to give it a speckled look. Next, he recreated Leakey's site plans in small scale on paper, outlining the bones and stone implements and placing them in accordance with her drawings. He then enlarged the drawings to a full-scale paper "pattern." He transferred the design to the epoxy floor by rubbing vine charcoal over perforations in the pattern. The pattern was carefully removed so as not to disturb the charcoal.
Starting in one corner and following the charcoal pattern, Falcone then painted all the bones and stone implements previously represented by charcoal. He used five different colors, each of which was mixed with hardener and applied separately. Apprentice Victor A. Visockis assisted Falcone in the various stages of preparation and painting.
The exhibition also features Peabody preparator Michael Anderson's fossil reconstruction of a male Neanderthal's cranial and facial anatomy. This display shows visitors how scientists are able to take fossil fragments and recreate what a hominid actually looked like.
The display shows visitors the reconstruction at three stages: first as bone, then with facial and neck musculature, and finally in lifelike form with skin, hair and eyes.
By showing visitors the creative process that regularly occurs behind the scenes in museums, the display emphasizes the important role that such work plays in scientific studies.
Twelve bronze skulls were cast for the exhibition by a team of sculptors in Pennsylvania under the supervision of George Mummert and Sean Bradley with participation by Anderson in the wax pattern stage.
The bronzes represent six Homo sapiens skulls, each paired with a hominid ancestor or, in one case, human's nearest living animal relative, the chimpanzee.
Bronze was selected as the ideal material to represent such specimens because it not only can last for millennia, it eliminates the need for glass cases, necessary to protect real fossils and objects cast in plaster and resins -- making it possible for visitors to interact with the specimens.
"People can touch and compare each pair of skulls to get a visceral impression of the morphological differences between them, from the brain case to the facial structure and teeth," says Anderson.
The skulls were created using a process called the lost wax casting method. In the first phase, the artisans used molds of the skull to create a wax version, or "pattern," of each skull. Each wax skull was meticulously detailed to remove any seams or air bubbles, and then various segments were fitted with what looked like a "plumbing system." The wax skulls and attachments were then dipped into a liquid ceramic material called a slurry. This material was built up in layers, drying between coats.
Once the desired thickness was achieved, the pieces were fired in an upside down position inside a kiln. The wax melted and flowed from a hole made in the top of the piece (hence the term "lost wax" method), and the piece -- now a hollow ceramic mold -- was ready to receive the molten bronze. When casting was complete, the ceramic was broken away and discarded, revealing a cast bronze skull.
Glass beads were then used in a sand blaster to clean the surface, and any needed welding took place. The surfaces were detailed again to remove unwanted defects and received a final finishing process that gave them lustre and color. Wax was applied at this final step to provide a protective finish -- preparing the skulls for their future role as hands-on exhibitions at the Peabody Museum.
T H I S
Art illuminates science of 'Fossil Fragments'
Walking on bones
Sculptor Sean Bradley (left) and museum preparator Michael Anderson align one of the bronze skulls (still sans final coating) for welding.
Reconstructing the past
Skulls to compare
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