ReCreation
WAX WAX WAX
WAX
A wax sculpture is a sculpture made in wax. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief. The properties of beeswax make it an excellent medium for preparing figures and models, either by modeling or by casting in molds. At ordinary temperatures, it can easily be cut and shaped; it melts at a low temperature; it mixes with any coloring matter, and takes surface tints well; and its texture and consistency may be modified by the addition of earthy matters and oils or fats. When molten, it is highly responsive to impressions from a mold, and once it sets and hardens its form is relatively resilient against ordinary temperature variations, even when it is cast in thin laminae. These properties have seen wax used for modelling since the Middle Ages. There is testimony of wax having been used for making masks and in particular death masks during ancient Rome. The death masks of illustrious ancestors would be displayed by the elite holding the right of “ius imaginem�. The cost of making a wax sculpture can be between USD150,000 to 300,000.
Table of Contents
Louis Tussa ud’s Palace o f Wax 03 House of Fra nkenstein W ax Museum Hollywood W 04 ax Museum Madame Tu 05 ssauds Lond o n ( th e original) 0 Hot To Crea 6 te A Wax Sc ulpture 07 Wax Museum at Fishe Siddhagiri W rman’s Wharf 09 ax Museum 10 Hip Hop on Wax 11 Wax: Bob M arley 12 Potter ’s Wax Museum 13 Musée Conti Wax Museum Royal Londo 14 n Wax Muse um 15 Popular Cult ure 16 Black Popula r Culture 17 Black Histor y 18 Art & Exhib its 19 Ron Mueck 20 Art History 21 Fun & Game s 23 Society 24 Travel: Wax In Paris 25 Celebrity Sta tus 26 Babylon 27 ONE HEAR T
Louis Tussaud’s Palace of Wax
Louis Tussaud’s Palace of Wax Grand Prairie, TX Experience the world of movie stars, historical figures, fantasy and fear. Mingle with Tinseltown’s most famous stars, past and present. Relive unforgettable moments from Hollywood’s classics.
See your favorite stars, Horrors, and the Hall of Presidents. Over 200 lifelike figures in amazing detail from the famous to the infamous! Fun for the entire family! ∆ President Barack Obama
Jim Carey as “ The Riddler”
Abraham Lincoln
Denzel Washington http://www.ripleys.com/grandprairie/
Batman & Cat Woman 03
House of Frankenstein Wax Museum
House of Frankenstein Wax Museum Lake George, New York
Some say that merely living in New York is torture; the House of Frankenstein Wax Museum proves it.
Prerecorded screams fill your ears here as dummies are flayed alive, garroted, and boiled in oil. A skull sticks out of a pile of sand; “Ant Torture -- a thousand deaths before the end,” reads the sign. A woman screams as an ax cleaves into her face. “The Hatchet Man -- another innocent victim is murdered,” reads this one. We won’t even begin to describe what’s happening to the poor devils in “The Amazing Room of Rats.” Other favorites among the 52 (count ‘em) exhibits: an electrocution where you get to throw the switch; “Megalopolis, Man of the Future,” who looks like The Colossus of New York with flashing red eyes; a black light room called “Strange Planet” where you walk across wrestling mats while early Pink Floyd echoes around you; and finally “Your Host,” a strange, deformed figure that babbles Ed Woodesque dialogue. “The fall and fabric of your existence is but a trickle in the Sands of Time!” Whew. ∆
www.frankensteinwaxmuseum.com/
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Hollywood Wax Museum
Hollywood Wax Museum Los Angeles, CA
The Hollywood Wax Museum, located on famous Hollywood Boulevard along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is the longest running wax museum in the United States, with more than 45 years of continuous operation by the same owners since 1965. Hollywood Wax Museum is the only wax museum in the country devoted entirely to celebrity figures. That means a visit to the Hollywood Wax Museum puts you face-to-face with icons of the silver screen, recreated so faithfully that you’d swear they were alive. ∆
This famous museum gets an estimated 300,000 visitors each year.
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Madame Tussauds London (Original)
Madame Tussauds London
At a time when news was communicated largely by word of mouth, Madame Tussauds’ exhibition was a kind of travelling newspaper, providing insight into global events and bringing the ordinary public face-to-face with the people in the headlines. Priceless artefacts from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars brought to vividly life events in Europe which had a direct bearing on everyday lives. Figures of leading statesmen and, in the Chamber of Horrors, notorious villains put faces to the names on everyone’s lips and captured the public imagination. In 1835, Madame Tussauds’ exhibition established a permanent base in London as the Baker Street Bazaar - visitors paid ‘sixpence’ for the chance to meet the biggest names of the day. The attraction moved to its present site in Marylebone Road come 1884. ∆ Marylebone Road, London
David & Victoria Beckham
Jessica Ennis
President Barack Obama
Rihanna http://www.madametussauds.com/
Princess Diana
Step into the Oval Office with Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the first African-American to be elected President of the United States and is the forty-fourth president. Obama is a graduate of both Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He has worked as a community organizer, practiced as a civil rights attorney and has also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. ∆
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How To Make A Wax Sculpture
How To Make A Wax Sculpture
Step 1: Creating a Clay Sculpture Armed with photographs, actual measurements, and scanned images, the sculptor transforms a common lump of clay into a perfect likeness that captures the look and feel of life. From facial expressions right down to every mole and wrinkle, the clay head and face are created in perfect proportion.
It takes a team of seven talented artists over three months to create a life-like wax figure.∆
Step 2: Creating A Mold Our fabricator forms an algenate mold from the clay sculpture. Then, he carefully pours a molten mixture of natural and petroleum-based wax inside. The wax is swirled, layer upon layer, until the mold is evenly coated with a two-inch thickness of wax. The mixture is left to thoroughly harden before the mold encasing the head is opened to reveal a rough waxen image.
Step 3: Whittling the Wax Using specially-designed instruments fashioned after surgical tools, the wax artist removes excess wax from the nostrils, ears and mouth. He then makes intricate refinements by delicately etching the wax for days. First, an authentic facial expression is created with the appropriate wrinkles, fine lines and unique markings in each forehead and face. The masterpiece is completed by carving the detailed features of the eyes, ears, nose and lips.
Step 4: Bringing The Wax to Life First, the craftsman mixes colored wax and oil paint to create an exact skin tone match. He gently applies the color like make-up, adding details such as freckles, birthmarks and age marks. Next, hair is inserted with a special needle, one strand at a time, including eyebrows, lashes and facial hair. Finally, medical glass eyes and porcelain teeth are added to duplicate the person’s actual characteristics. 07
How To Make A Wax Sculpture
Step 5: Handling Hands & Other Parts The wax artist creates hands using the same sculpting, molding, carving and painting techniques as crafting the head. But, there is an added challenge of matching the person’s stance and hand gestures. Right down to each vein, knuckle and fingernail, our team matches the person’s skin tone, paints the distinctive markings and inserts hairs with a tiny needle.
Step 6: Crafting the Costume The tailor places linen over the figure’s body and creates a pattern for each piece of clothing. With the goal of complete authenticity in mind, the costumer locates fabrics and decorative materials (metal studs, buckles, beads, and sequins) to hand-make each item, including coats, dresses, boots, headdresses, belts, capes, chaps, bathing suits, and more. Cleverlyconcealed Velcro closings are sewn in to help the costumer dress the figure.
Step 7: Prepping The Props Matching the look and placement of every accessory is top priority for the prop master. Prop houses, vintage stores, auctions, and the studios, are resources for items such as military medals, crests, distinctive buttons, and logos. Often our prop master borrows an original sword, pair of sunglasses or other prop from the studio. He makes a mold and finishes the piece exactly as it appeared on screen.
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Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf
Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco, California
In September 1998, the historic 100 year old San Francisco landmark that was The Wax Museum Entertainment Complex for 35 years, torn down to make way for a $15 million, 100, 000 square foot showplace. ∆
Elvis Presley Hall of Religion
King Tut
Chamber of Horrors
The Last Supper
Hall of Religion http://www.waxmuseum.com/
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Siddhagiri Wax Museum
India
As it is clear from the title, this place seems to be the culmination of the untiring efforts, intelligent planning and dedication of innumerable saints, ascetics and sages. The region is 300 feet above the mean sea level. It is surrounded by attractive greenery, nature. All young and old alike are captivated at the sight of this enchanting spot. The historical eminence and significance, which this pious pilgrimage centre is enjoying is the result of the grace of the late Shree Kadsiddheshwar Swamiji who has composed about 500 hymns in ‘kannada’ language and who was named as the first head of ‘Siddhagiri Peeth’. So far there have been 26 heads of this ‘Peeth’. The present swamiji, H.H. Adrushya Kadsiddheshwar Swamiji was duly anointed and installed as the 27th head. ∆
The grandma stitching ‘Godhadi’
The dwelling of ‘Joshi’
http://www.siddhagirimuseum.org/
The farmer’s residence
A scene depicting a married woman from her father’s place
Oilman’s House
The grocer’s shop
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Hip Hop ON Wax
HIP HOP ON WAX
Hip Hop plays an important role in the world of music including world culture. Not only is Hip Hop lyrical genius and a wide respected musical genre, it is also a social scene. Rare wax discoveries lie awake in the form of legends in the game like Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Snoop Dogg & P. Diddy. Maybe more rap artist will be honored in the upcoming years. ∆ Jahmerikah Marley Tupac The wax figure bears a striking Shakur, the resemblance to Diddy. Diddy is the rap world’s greatest fig- 4th Hip Hop celebrity to be honored with ure, Madame a wax Tussauds figure; has imMadame mortalized Tusthrough a sauds. wax sculpture which is set to -New be displayed in Las Vegas. York The sculpture will depict a shirtless Tupac sporting a bandana. Madame Tussauds Snoop Dogg is seen donning the same outfits -Las Vegas with the ones worn by his statue. As claimed by his representative, Snoop’s wax figure costs $300,000.
Biggie’s wax figure is said to sport a white three-piece suit, white hat and white shoes and is standing with one hand in its pocket and the other hand resting on a gold and wood cane. Madame Tussauds. -New York
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Wax: Bob Marley
: X A W EY L
AR M B O B
INCREDIBLE
The craftsmanship displayed through this particular exhibit is commendable. This is by far the most realistic incarnation of Sir. Bob Marley. (Madam Tussauds London)
BEST
Although more than half of these figures aren’t the best or most beautiful, its an honor to know Reggae King & Legend Bob Marley is still being remembered throughout the world. My eyes could not believe the distasteful rendition of a few wax sculptures supposedly portraying our beloved brethren. The clothes and hair is praised while certain facial features are slightly mis judged. Take a look at these pieces ranked between incredible and terrible! ∆ ReCreation Magazine ™ Founder, Jahmerikah Marley
HORRIBLE
TERR
IBLE
ONE LOVE 12
Potter’s Wax Museum St. Augustine, FL
In the heart of Historic Saint Augustine, Florida Discover America’s First and Finest Wax Museum. Potter’s Wax Museum features over 160 wax figures! Authors, Artists, Inventors, Scientist, and Explorers. From the Founding Fathers to recent events and celebrities, one visit to Potter’s Wax Museum will give you a chance to learn about the world history face to face with those who lived it. ∆
http://www.potterswax.com/
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Musée Conti Wax Museum
Musée Conti Wax Museum
New Orleans, Louisiana
Musée Conti Wax Museum & The Art of Wax Sculpture
Founded in 1963, this 3rd generation, family owned and operated business is a New Orleans treasure chest of history, legend and scandal. Unlike other wax museums, The Musée Conti Wax Museum tells the story of one city alone, and what a story it is! From the city’s fair founding, to the legendary Battle of New Orleans, to the mysterious world of Voodoo. The fascinating tableau of New Orleans unique history unfolds before your very eyes.
Representing more than three yeas of careful research and painstaking craftsmanship, Musée Conti depicts the exciting history of New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory. There are 154 life-size figures sculpted in wax, and displayed in historically accurate settings. In addition to our historical exhibit, we also have a Haunted Dungeon. These details may be of interest: Ordinary beeswax is mixed with a secret chemical compound that hardens the material and increases its resistance to extremes of temperature. Wax, like human skin, is slightly translucent; the coloring is infused beneath the final layer, thus accounting for the uncanny similarity to human flesh. Each strand of human hair - imported from Italy - is inserted separately with a special needle. This laborious process achieves the realism that is sought out. All male figures are given complete beards; if you look carefully at the clean-shaven figures you will see a faint stubble remaining on their chins. Medical glass eyes are obtained from Germany, a country long famous for supremacy in optical glass. The artistry of the sculptured heads creates as close a resemblance to the actual persons depicted as history has recorded, and as human skill can reproduce. It has been policy to show famous people as they appeared at the time of their greatest impact on the world, a point that should be remembered with living people portrayed in the Museum - they will age but the wax figures will not. Similarly, the size of the figures has been thoroughly researched, and is fully accurate. Sometimes people are astonished at the apparent smallness of some of the wax figurines. Apart from the fact that their immobility tends to suggest this illusion, it should be remembered that the human race has been steadily gaining in average stature throughout history, with the greatest gains recorded in the last hundred years. For may centuries mankind has marveled at the eerie “magic” of the Wax Museum. In olden Babylon wax figures were known; Alexander the Great retained his own wax sculptor one hundred years before Christ, and the Romans commonly practiced the art. No fair in the medieval Europe was complete without its collection of figures. It is believed that the Musée Conti Wax Museum is a worthy successor to this long and firmly rooted tradition. ∆
http://www.neworleanswaxmuseum.com/
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Royal London Wax Museum
Royal London Wax Museum
Victoria, British Columbia
Royal London Wax Museum originally opened 1961 in a street level location of the Crystal Garden at the corner of Belleville and Douglas. It was at a time when the Crystal Garden housed Canada’s largest salt water swimming pool. With floor space of about six thousand square feet and initially displaying some fifty wax figures, this attraction established North America’s first exhibition of Tussaud wax figures from England. North America’s first Josephine Tussaud wax museum remains the “flagship” establishment on this continent, and is a major contributor to the City of Victoria’s image and reputation as “A Little Bit of Olde England.” Located in the CPR Steamship Terminal building in Victoria, the wax museum was forced to close to make way for $3 million upgrades to the building. The museum had expected to move back into the building when work was completed, but efforts to negotiate a new lease have, so far, failed. The Royal London Wax Museum is closed until further notice, while seeking a new home. ∆
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Popular Culture
Eight Is Enough?
Multiple Lady Gaga Wax Figures
Wax on, Lady Gaga. And on and on and on... Eight separate wax figures were created as the new star attractions at Madame Tussauds branches in New York, Las Vegas and Hollywood as well as international branches in London, Shanghai, Berlin, Amsterdam and Hong Kong. In typical Gaga style, the statues are all different, showing off multiple looks from the singer’s eclectic and ever-changing wardrobe. Edward Fuller, the general manager of Madame Tussauds, says, “The demand to include Lady Gaga has been overwhelming and we are more than happy to oblige. It’s been quite a challenge to keep details of eight figure launches top secret, but the fans certainly seem to have enjoyed the intrigue.” ∆
DID YOU KNOW?
Lady Gaga’s name was inspired by the Queen song, ‘Radio Gaga’ By PopEater Staff
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Black Popular Culture
MICHAEL JACKSON
Replicas come in all shapes and sizes, very few actually capture the artist and all of it’s glory. Intense research shows only a few wax figures that embody the total structure of such public figure, Michael Jackson. The artist of these rare wax ornaments ReCreate my favorite pop star in a genius way. The apparel, the posture and the life of Michael Jackson is so well done, these statues should walk dance and sing. Long Live The King. ∆
Jahmerikah Marley
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Black History
Oran Z’s Pan African Black Facts & Wax Museum 3742 W. Martin L. King Bl Los Angeles, CA 90008 (323) 299-8829
The Oran Z Pan African Black Facts & Wax Museum accurately preserves and presents black wax figures, depicts scenes and eras with authentic clothes, uniforms and artifacts, featuring such characters as a Sojourner Truth, Malcolm X, Muhammed Ali, Harriet Tubman, Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., Ida Wells Barnett, Louis Armstrong, Thurgood Marshall, George Washington Carver and many more. The museum also presents cultural artifacts from throughout the African world, black memorabilia, Blacks in advertising, Negro League baseball history, autographs, a reference library, thousands of artifacts and relics dating from before Christ, to rare and oneof-a-kind photographs dating from the beginning of America to yesterday’s news. The museum is the winner of the prestigious 1997 “Martin Luther King Living the Dream Award” presented by the City of Omaha. The Oran Z Pan African Black Facts & Wax Museum has one of the world’s largest collections of Black Americana artifacts including 1000’s of postcards, sheet music, records, videos, books, stamps, coins, silverware, advertising, dolls, sculptures, signs, kitchen collections, baseball cards, first editions, quilts, African artifacts, slavery items, fine art, folk art, wax figures, autographs, cookie jars, salt shakers, pipes, games, toys, movies, jewelry, plaques, KKK paraphernalia, Adinkras and authentic antique Kente cloths. ∆
http://www.oransblackmuseum.com
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Art & Exhibits
Gigantic Wax Sculptures
Sculptures are artwork from Ron Mueck. 19
Ron Mueck Mueck, Ron (1958- ) Ron Mueck is a Londonbased photo-realist artist. Born in Melbourne, Australia, to parents who were toy makers, he labored on children’s television shows for 15 years before working in special effects for such films as “Labyrinth,” a 1986 fantasy epic starring David Bowie. Muek then started his own company in London, making models to be photographed for advertisements. He has lots of the dolls he made during his advertising years stored in his home. Although some still have, he feels, “a presence on their own,” many were made just to be photographed from a particular angle—”one strip of a face,” for example, with a lot of loose material lurking an inch outside the camera’s frame. Eventually Mueck concluded that photography pretty much destroys the physical “presence” of the original object, and so he turned to fine art and sculpture. In the early 1990s, still in his advertising days, Mueck was commissioned to make something highly realistic, and was wondering what material would do the trick. Latex was the usual, but he wanted something harder, more precise. Luckily, he saw a little architectural decor on the wall of a boutique and inquired as to the nice, pink stuff’s nature. Fiberglass resin was the answer, and Mueck has made it his bronze and marble ever since. In the three years since his participation in Sensation: Works from the Saatchi Collection, Mueck has posted shows at major galleries in New York, Germany, not to mention selection for the London Millenium Dome and now his work is the subject of a solo exhibition at that city’s highest profile contemporary art space, Anthony d’Offay gallery.∆ 20
Art History
Wax Mannequins and Wax Sculpting History
We are often amazed at how lifelike one Beeswax has historically always been an excellent medium for preparing figures and models, can make a wax figurine. Some recall the either through carving or by casting in molds. At ordinary temperatures, wax can easily be cut and number of wax museums you could visit shaped; it melts at a low temperature; it mixes with any coloring matter, and takes surface tints well. when growing up. So what is the history of Its texture and consistency may be modified by the addition of earthy matters and oils or fats and wax figurines and is wax still being used to when molten, it is highly responsive to impressions from a mold. With wax, once it sets and hardens create lifelike people? ∆ its form is relatively resilient against ordinary temperature variations, even when it is cast in thin laminae. This is possibly why we have seen wax used for modeling since the Middle Ages. During the Italian Renaissance, modeling in wax took a position of high importance, and it was practiced by some of the greatest of the early masters. The bronze medallions of Pisanello and of the other famous medalists owe their value to the properties of wax: all early bronzes and metalwork were cast from wax models first. The famous wax bust attributed to Leonardo da Vinci acquired in 1909 by the Museum of Berlin is the work of an English forger who worked about 1840. The wax model of a head, at the Wicar Museum at Lille, belongs probably to the school of Canova, which robs it of none of its exquisite grace. There are a number of very high quality wax figures from the 16th and 17th centuries, mostly portrait figures and religious or mythological scenes, often with many figures. Antonio Abondio (1538-91) pioneered the colored wax portrait miniature in relief, working mainly for the Habsburg and other courts of Northern Europe, and his son Alessandro continued in his footsteps. Towards the close of the eighteenth century, modeling of medallion portraits and of relief groups, the latter frequently polychromatic, was in considerable vogue throughout Europe. Many of the artists were women. John Flaxman executed in wax many portraits and other relief figures which Josiah Wedgwood translated into pottery for his Jasperware. The National Portrait Gallery has forty wax portraits, mostly from this period. Meanwhile, as storefronts were becoming popular as was the rise of the mannequin, the idea of using wax seemed the most apparent solution. With wax, models could be created in the most flattering way to the store clothing line. One of these great wax model designers was Pierre Imans a mannequin manufacturer from Paris. Imans was known for bringing a beautiful sense of human element to mannequins by capturing body expressions in wax. He created interactive compositions of figures, as though they were in the process of living and unaware that they were also being observed. Heads and torsos were sculpted as one. With a slight turn of the head, a hint of movement was achieved. Hands were more delicately posed to create storytelling attitudes. Miss Modesty, a wax mannequin of 1899 is a prime example of the development of storytelling attitudes. She stood in a store window, with hands and arms covering her face, stating reservation and shyness because she was wearing and selling corsets and undergarments. At the turn of the century, the women’s suffrage movement was gaining momentum, a definite influence on the female mannequin. In fact, a particular Siegel mannequin that was set upon a turning base (she was without legs) translated into a determined, assertive female of that era. With one arm held back and a hand slightly clenched, her head was high with vision focused straight forward. The other hand was more relaxed, showing a touch of softness. True to the accepted body language of her day, she portrayed the mature woman, with hips thrown back and heavy bosom thrust upwards.
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Art History After World War I, countries were plunged into the chaotic realm of picking up the pieces and getting back to the business of normal living. Concurrently, there was a major transition in the type of material used to sculpt mannequins, and there was a move from wax to plaster.
Plaster figures didn’t melt in the show windows. They were much lighter in weight, and easier to handle. But at the same time, with plaster, it was more difficult to achieve the detailed features and anatomy that were possible with wax.
Wax figurines are still made today, but not wax mannequins. Today mannequin is typically made of fiberglass yet retains the very lifelike features of history wax mannequins. Despite the lack of need for mannequins made of wax, the medium of wax is still in high use and may always be due to its numerous qualities. ∆ John Flaxman
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Fun & Games You know what’s creepier than Kim Kardashian? Kim Kardashian as a wax replica. Wax figures have always been an odd tribute, in our humble opinion, but what happens when the artists behind them make their celebs look like psychotic killers? You tell us...∆
Y P E E R C T S O M : D VOTE
We didn’t know Tiger Woods was actually an old white lady.
Let’s put aside for a moment that there’s a drug-addled bum standing behind Angelina and focus on the fact that these people made a wax figurine of a baby. Shiloh will live forever as a plastic doll. This exhibit should fund her future therapy sessions.
Wax Tyra hates you a lot.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
The real question: Which one is scarier?
Is it really necessary that we honor Hitler in wax form? 23
Society
WORST EVER
The Worst Michael Jackson Wax Figures
Jahmerikah Marley A complete outrage! These wax figures are horrid, disgusting and heartbreaking. Clearly these sculptors are mere amateurs. Step yo’ wax game up proper.
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Travel: Wax In Paris Paris, France
Grevin Paris Wax Museum
Paris was a busy place in the 19th century, and the public wanted to know everything that was going on. Journalist Arthur Meyer (1844-1917) came up with the idea of creating life-size, threedimensional models of the people who made the headlines in the famous daily paper “Le Gaulois”. Meyer’s idea was simple: to create a place where the public could walk through a setting peopled with wax figures. It was an instant success!
Discover a completely renovated Grevin Wax Museum. Experience the spirit of Paris of yesterday and today with scenes from the major events of the 20th century, French history and the latest news. See the brasserie, the theatre, artists’ studios - all the legendary Parisian haunts where you will rub shoulders with the “Tout Paris” celebrities. Three hundred wax figures are waiting to meet you, to be photographed with you and be remembered forever. ∆
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Celebrity Status
BEST CELEBRITY LOOK A LIKES
Justin Bieber
Refreshing to see this sport of ReCreating taking seriously. These imitations mange to put a smile on everyone’s face, well done. Bruce Willis
Serena Williams
Regis & Kelly
Amy Winehouse
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Babylon
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