Mythical creatures from around the world are tucked away behind the door of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri this month. The man behind these monster puppets is Michael Baird.
His knowledge of folklore is deep and academic, having focused on the psychological and sociological origins of some of the more bizarre creatures in folklore.
“Reading into medieval folklore specifically and they ended up very frequently ‘monsteracizing’ if you could call that an actual word, but ostracizing other cultures and other creatures they didn’t understand,” Baird said.
Baird has a long history of being fascinated with the fantastical, studying all sorts of folklore from around the world, starting with European myths and literature. His interests later shifted to Asia.
“Very quickly, Japanese becomes really fascinating because they have a really rich, amazingly deep history of creatures of all different types and its really fascinating stuff,” Baird said.
Baird has been enchanted by folklore since he was a child and he clearly shows it through his puppets. A redcap, a kappa and the boogeyman himself are only just a small sample of what Michael has created and he jokes about how many more are in his home. His works included a vast and colorful collection of masks all the way up to a 12 foot tall giant puppet named ‘Tiny’. They were all created and brought to life by his own hands.
“My house is always Halloween, its always decorated for Halloween anyway just because I’m such a big fan of the idea,” Baird said.
Baird’s next project is to partner with his father and create a photo-story book depicting most of his creations and the folklore behind them.
Michael Baird’s “Folklore” exhibit will go on until October 26.