Jan 18, 2020

Sternberg exhibit meshes art with inland sea fossils

Posted Jan 18, 2020 12:01 PM
A mural by Ray Troll depicts fish that lived in the great western interior seaway. The sea covered Kansas during the Cretaceous Period (79 million to 66 million years ago). Troll uses modern fish as inspiration for these prehistoric  creatures.
A mural by Ray Troll depicts fish that lived in the great western interior seaway. The sea covered Kansas during the Cretaceous Period (79 million to 66 million years ago). Troll uses modern fish as inspiration for these prehistoric  creatures.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Two Kansas natives are bringing a combination of fossils and vibrant art to the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in its latest exhibit "The Prairie Ocean: Long Time, No Sea." The exhibit opens to the public today.

Chuck Bonner was born and raised in central and western Kansas, and his father was good friends with George Sternberg, for whom the Hays museum is named. 

A plesiosaur fossil that Bonner's father, Marion, found in 1955 is still on display at the Sternberg.

A photo of a plesiosaur fossil that Chuck Bonner's father, Marion, found and donated to the Sternberg collection in 1955. Also pictured are Chuck Bonner's mother and older sister.
A photo of a plesiosaur fossil that Chuck Bonner's father, Marion, found and donated to the Sternberg collection in 1955. Also pictured are Chuck Bonner's mother and older sister.

The Bonner family has a prehistoric fish named for them — the Bonnerichthys. Chuck Bonner found the type specimen for the creature. His brother, who was a paleontologist at KU, prepared the fossil and it sat in storage until it could be identified.

The Bonnerichthys lived in the late Cretaceous Period (79 million to 66 million years ago) was about 20 feet long and was a filter feeder. A fossil of one of the fins of this fish is on display in the "Prairie Ocean" exhibit as well as a painting depicting what the fish may have looked like.

Although Bonner has had some thrilling fossil finds, he joked his next one will be his best.

He said he enjoys the naturalness of fossil hunting. He always has his head to the ground, looking for his next discovery.

Chuck Bonner prepares a display case for the exhibit that contains a fossil and original art by Bonner and Ray Troll.
Chuck Bonner prepares a display case for the exhibit that contains a fossil and original art by Bonner and Ray Troll.

Bonner attended Fort Hays State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in art and a master’s degree in painting. Today, he and his wife run the Keystone Gallery, which is a combination of art gallery, fossil museum and gift shop.

Ray Troll, co-creator of the exhibit, is a Wichita native and graduate of Bethany College in Lindsborg. He now lives in Alaska. He is known for his artwork depicting prehistoric creatures and has several book credits, including "Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway" with Dr. Kirk Johnson.

Troll began drawing dinosaurs with crayons when he was 4, and prehistoric creatures have been an obsession ever since, he said. By the time he was 6, he was a mini-expert.

"Tyrannosaur was the first word I learned how to spell," he said. "because I was so passionate about dinosaurs. I knew how to spell dinosaur before I knew how to spell my own name."

Troll said he was drawn to prehistoric creatures because they are like mythical dragons.

"They once roamed the land. These creatures swam in the ocean," he said. "We are standing on the ancient sea floor right here. It is that reality of these almost mythical beasts ... They're real."

A portion of a pteranodon leg bone that was discovered by Ray Troll in the western Kansas chalk formations.
A portion of a pteranodon leg bone that was discovered by Ray Troll in the western Kansas chalk formations.

Bonner and Troll met in the early '90s when Troll was working on the book "Planet Ocean."

Troll went fossil hunting with Bonner in the Kansas chalk formations. He found a little numb sticking out of the ground that turned out to be portion of a  rare leg bone from a pteranodon. That fossil is on display in the "Prairie Ocean" exhibit. 

Troll was so excited and proud of the find that he started signing some of his art with a silent P — Ptroll. Look for a tongue-and-cheek art piece depicting Ptroll as the pteranodon hunter in the exhibit.

"It truly is a magical thing when I touched that bone," he said."  When I first found the [pteranodon bone], it was magical. It was extraordinary. This is from 80 million years ago. ... That is the first time that has seen the light of the day in 80 million years, and it was like I had a mystical kind of spirit animal connection."

The painting pictured here on the bottom of this wall in the  Sternberg "Prairie Ocean" exhibit is a representation of the fossil fragment hanging on the upper wall.
The painting pictured here on the bottom of this wall in the  Sternberg "Prairie Ocean" exhibit is a representation of the fossil fragment hanging on the upper wall.

Understanding the science behind the animals, helps the artist recreate these prehistoric creatures in art, Bonner said.

"You need to know somewhat about the anatomy and skeletal structure," he said. "It also helps to know their modern relatives in some ways."

Bonner pointed to a large painting on the back wall of the exhibit. He said even though the fish is not related to the modern-day swordfish, it resembles a swordfish in its body shape with the exception of its very large teeth.

Ray Troll hangs an art piece for "The Prairie Ocean: Long Time, No Sea" exhibit at the Sternberg Museum. The exhibit opens to the public today.
Ray Troll hangs an art piece for "The Prairie Ocean: Long Time, No Sea" exhibit at the Sternberg Museum. The exhibit opens to the public today.

Troll stood in front of a colorful mural that stretched around one of the walls of the exhibit. He noted he also uses modern-day fish to choose the colors and shading in his artwork of prehistoric creatures.

Most modern fish are counter shaded, which mean they are white or light colored on the bottom and darker on the top. This helps camouflage them from both above and below.

He pointed to one fish and said he chose to color the fish like a modern-day tuna because it was shaped like a tuna and likely filled a similar niche in the prehistoric seas.

"That is a fascinating thing about evolution," Troll said. "This is in a different group of fish. This is not related to a tuna, yet it evolved into a shape that is almost exactly like a tuna — big head, big, strong forked tail."

Troll then pointed to another illustration of a fish. He lifted up his sleeve to show a tattoo on his arm of the same fish — the Troll's rat fish, which is named for him.

"It's because I am a rat fish nerd, and there is a rat fish scientist that I know, and to honor me and my rat fish obsession, she named a rat fish after me," he said. 

Almost every color in the spectrum appears on modern-day fish, so Troll brings a varied pallet to his work of prehistoric creatures. Stripes and polka dots in Troll's fish, like in modern fish, could have been used for camouflage or to attract a mate.

Bonner said he just hopes visitors to the exhibit will find it interesting.

"I hope they're not bored," Bonner said. "We want some pizazz. This is a great representation of the type of life that was in the inland sea through Kansas and the western interior seaway."

Troll said "I hope this piques their curiosity about the natural world, and piquing their curiosity, they will want to know more about the natural world and introduce whimsy and fantasy, but also gets them interested in the topic of deep time. ...

"I think it is important for us to know our place in the universe and the history of the planet. The only way to understand where we are going as a species and as a planet is to know where it has been before."