Mark Cline

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Mark Cline is an American artist and entertainer. Inspired by monster and science fiction films, he produces foam and fiberglass figures and fantasy characters for attractions and cities. [1]

Artist person who creates, practises and/or demonstrates any art

An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only. The term is often used in the entertainment business, especially in a business context, for musicians and other performers. "Artiste" is a variant used in English only in this context; this use is becoming rare. Use of the term to describe writers, for example, is valid, but less common, and mostly restricted to contexts like criticism.

Cline has described Foamhenge as his greatest achievement. [2] He has also built hundreds of dinosaur statues, including thirty for his own Dinosaur Kingdom and nineteen for Dinosaur Land in White Post, Virginia, the park that inspired him to sculpt. [3] Cline's work appears in attractions across Virginia, including a concentration of works in and around Natural Bridge, where he works out of Enchanted Castle Studios. His studio appears in the book Weird Virginia and the Roadside America books and website. [4]

<i>Foamhenge</i> Styrofoam replica of Stonehenge

Foamhenge is a full-scale styrofoam replica of Stonehenge. It is a popular roadside attraction, conceived and built by artist Mark Cline, that opened on April 1, 2004 in Natural Bridge, Virginia. Foamhenge was relocated to Centreville, Virginia in 2017.

Dinosaur Kingdom II is a tourist attraction in Natural Bridge, Virginia, consisting of statues which depict a dinosaur attack on the Union Army. The park contains thirty fiberglass dinosaur statues, a smaller number of Union soldiers, and several other characters, including Abraham Lincoln and a gorilla in a cowboy hat. Dinosaur Kingdom, which opened in 2005, is the work of local artist Mark Cline, who also created nearby Foamhenge. The park's statues are built around the premise that paleontologists discovered dinosaurs in Virginia in 1863; when the Union Army attempted to use the dinosaurs as weapons, the dinosaurs turned on them. Cline originally planned to have the dinosaurs besiege Pancho Villa's army, but chose to use the Union Army instead to win local favor, claiming "people still fight the Civil War down here". According to Cline, Northerners have never complained about playing the villain in the attraction; he plans to open a similar park at Gettysburg reenacting Pickett's Charge with dinosaurs, in which the Confederates will be attacked. Cline had desired to build dinosaur statues ever since stopping at the Dinosaur Land park in White Post, Virginia in his youth; his inspiration for Dinosaur Kingdom's theme came from the movie The Valley of Gwangi, in which cowboys discovered living dinosaurs in a Mexican valley.

White Post, Virginia Unincorporated community in Virginia

White Post is an unincorporated community in Clarke County, Virginia. White Post is located at the crossroads of White Post Road and Berrys Ferry Road off Lord Fairfax Highway.

He often displays creations on April Fools' Day. [5] For example, Foamhenge was unveiled on April Fools' Day 2004. [2]

April Fools Day Annual celebration on April 1

April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day is an annual celebration on April 1, commemorated by practical jokes and hoaxes. The player(s) of the joke(s) or hoax(es) often exposes their action by shouting "April fool(s)" at the recipient(s). The recipient of these actions are called April fools. Mass media can be involved in these pranks that the following day are reported as such. Although popular since the 19th century, the day is not a public holiday in any country.

Cline was born in 1961 in Waynesboro, Virginia, [2] where in 1987 he unsuccessfully lobbied city council to erect a 60-foot (18 m) bust of "Mad" Anthony Wayne atop the city's capped landfill. [6]

Waynesboro, Virginia Independent city in Virginia, United States

Waynesboro, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 21,006.

Cline was often featured in The News Virginian . [7] He completed a mural just outside city limits on a train bridge over U.S. Route 250.

<i>The News Virginian</i>

The News Virginian is a newspaper owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The paper serves residents in the cities of Waynesboro and Staunton, Virginia, as well as Augusta and Nelson Counties.

U.S. Route 250 is a route of the United States Numbered Highway System, and is a spur of U.S. Route 50. It currently runs for 514 miles (827 km) from Richmond, Virginia to Sandusky, Ohio. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. It goes through the cities of Richmond, Charlottesville, Staunton, and Waynesboro, Virginia; and Wheeling, West Virginia. West of Pruntytown, West Virginia, US 250 intersects and forms a short overlap with its parent US 50.

In 2001 & 2012, a fire destroyed much of Cline's studio. Foamhenge was moved to the Cox Farm and Dinosaur Kingdom II across from the Natural Bridge Zoo. [8]

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References

  1. ↑ Mark Cline website About Me
  2. 1 2 3 Carlson, Peter (2006-04-24). "Jurassic Lark". The Washington Post.
  3. ↑ Clodfelter, Tim (September 1, 2006). "Fiberglass Menagerie: Virginia Man Lives Out Dream of Creating Statues, Scenes". Winston-Salem Journal . Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Enchanted Castle Studios". RoadsideAmerica.com.
  5. ↑ "April Fool's Pranks". enchantedcastlestudios.com.
  6. ↑ Gonzalez, Tony (2009-04-01). "Epic Return". The News Virginian.
  7. ↑ "Young Mark Cline". enchantedcastlestudios.com.
  8. ↑ "Suspicious Fire Destroys Natural Bridge Art Studio". Roanoke Times. newsbank.com.


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