MMD Newswire: Press Release News Wire

Philadelphia artists Robert F. Walters and Tess Kissinger have created a 179 foot long mural depicting life in the Jurassic. It will be unveiled at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History on November 21, 2007.

Philadelphia artists Robert F. Walters and Tess Kissinger have created a 179 foot long, 15 foot high mural depicting dinosaur life during the Jurassic period which will be unveiled at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History on November 21, 2007.  These world-famous natural history artists spent more than a year on the project and are pleased with the results. "Our passion is to work in the area where art and science overlap.  This was a dream project for us," Bob says enthusiastically.

The mural portrays what life may have looked like during the Jurassic time period -from the largest dinosaurs like Diplodocus carnegii to a tiny mammal, Fruitafosser. These animals are shown in the lush environment that recently discovered plant fossils indicate would have surrounded them.  Walters & Kissinger worked closely with paleontologists to ensure their vision was accurate.  "This mural is not just an artistic expression - it really has the best scientific content." said Dr. Zhe-Xi Luo, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Carnegie Museum.

In addition to this monumental Jurassic mural which was awarded the internationally prestigious Lanzendorf prize for 2-dimensional paleontological art at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting this year, the studio of Walters & Kissinger also created more than 100 illustrations and two additional murals for the Carnegie Museum. One was a 56 foot long portrait of life during the very earliest dinosaur time known as the Triassic, and the other is a depiction of life under water during the Cretaceous period.

"Every artist would like to live during a renaissance.  Right now, there are so many discoveries in paleontology, we artists are in a very exciting period." says Tess.
Bob adds, "It is amazing to us - it is almost like our planet is sharing its memories.  Everywhere paleontologists dig, the Earth tells us a story.  Tess and I are proud and privileged to be able to illustrate that story."

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