Mayborn1

Click here for a look Backstage

See the completed "Emergence of Man" gallery

Now Open! The Mayborn Museum Complex, Baylor University, Waco

On this page are photos of the product of eight weeks of the hardest work I have ever done. Working primarily on the Texas history side of the huge Mayborn Complex, I did first a series of translucent murals on white plexiglas for rear illumination. These works, painted in Houston, showed various points in the history and pre-history of the region within 100 miles of Waco. Then, moving up to Waco itself I worked alongside the staff of Southwest Museum Services of Houston for the most intense three weeks of painting in my life. I owe a special thanks to both principal project designer Michael Lewis, who took a chance on someone he really didn't know, and Florence Drew, who patiently researched every question I asked and was always ready to look with an open mind at a different way of presenting ideas. Thanks also to my favorite museum director, Dr. Ellie Caston, and to Anita Benedict of the Mayborn staff. Their patience, help, and good humor were invaluable.

	A good way to understand this new museum is to see it as a museum, in part, about museums. This room introduces that theme, literally, big-time with a century old whale's skull and a Mammoth skull suspended from the cieling. Peppered around the space is also a series of "cabinets of curiosities" displaying in the fashion of the 19th century artifacts collected over more than a century by the Strecker Museum.
	Looking here one can see the "Natural History Gallery". This room harkens back to old-style museums, with their dioramas and static displays, with a twist. Here you can become a part of some of the dioramas- by participating in the cave, forest, and mammoth experiences. You can see two of these, the cave and the forest to the lower left and right of the photo shown here. We used the murals I painted for the second level to introduce themes that would be explored in greater depth in such sections of the museum as the "Emergence of Man" gallery and the "Texas Lifeways" hall.
	I was called upon to do extensive mural work as background for the forest environment. This area was designed to give a picture of life in the forest prior to the intrusion of civilization and is divided to contrast pine and hardwood forests. Throughout the museum complex are interactive experiences like computer games and the "interactive tree" shown here nearing completion.
	Shown here, a full scale 28 foot model of a pleiosaur hovers over the Cretacious Sea exhibit. In ancient times Waco was covered by a shallow sea in which this creature hunted squid-like belemnites among reefs. This model was designed and built by Southwest Museum's Steve Hooks. I did some touch-up on it after it was installed.
	Starting with a design idea sketched on the back of a shopping list this Diorama went from blank walls to what you see on the left in less than 70 hours. In the last week of major installation I got nine hours of sleep from AM Tuesday to nighttime on Friday. Thanks to Trey Crumpton for providing expertise in the forest insects and their relationships with the environment that made this a truly informative museum display. Note the reflection of the Spanish Mission mural in the glass on the diorama.

Take a look. Just click here to see backstage at the Mayborn during the frantic last two months.

Want to know more about the Mayborn Museum Complex? Just Click here to see their website!

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To find out more about paintings, fine art, or any other product on this website just click here to E-mail Lee Emmerich Jamison PO Box 265 Dodge, Tx. 77334