Tim Burton Exhibit

I have fallen a little behind. We went to the Museum of Modern Art almost two weeks ago and I haven’t written about it yet.

We were lucky enough to catch the final weekend of the Tim Burton exhibit. It opened in November and has enjoyed a successful five month run, I imagine exceeding expectations. It would up with over 800,000 visitors coming in third behind a 1980 Picasso exhibit and one for Matisse in 1992. I read that one-third of the visitors had never been to a museum before. I can attest first hand that this was a younger crowd and they were five people deep at every piece.

I thought it would be somewhat interesting and focus on some film artifacts but I was really surprised how extensive the show was. There were over 700 pieces on display going all the way back to his teenage years. There were drawings, sketches, models, sculptures, movie props and costumes, short films, and videos. Some of the items were torn out of spiral books and still had the ragged edges. He had saved everything. I did not realize that essentially all the creativity in his movies originated with him and his skewed mind. I was really impressed at the body of work. I had forgotten some of the films he has made between Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Alice in Wonderland. There is definitely a very heavy Charles Addams influence.

As we were nearing the end of the exhibit Toni and I both noticed that several patrons had dressed in black and white stripes recalling the Beetlejuice costume. We had a good laugh because Toni was wearing a jacket of black and white stripes as well but in her case it was unintentional.

Here is a short interview with Burton. I think it would be good for any parent or grandparent to watch this and encourage the creative younger ones we encounter. They also show some of the pieces from the exhibit in this video.

Unfortunately this exhibit is headed for Melbourne for most of the year and then it will be in Toronto in late November into 2011. A fourth destination has not been announced yet. I don’t know if there are further plans.

The MoMA is just one avenue away so we plan be regulars there.