“Growing up in Burbank, there wasn’t much of a museum culture. When I did start frequenting museums, I was struck by how similar the vibe was to the cemetery. Not in a morbid way, but both have quiet, introspective, yet electrifying atmosphere. Excitement, mystery, discovery, life, and death all in one place. So, all these years later, to have this exhibition, to be showing things- some of which weren’t mant to ever be seen, or are just pieces of the larger picture- is very special to me.”
LACMA’s Tim Burton exhibition is a life in pictures- a retrospective and window inside Tim Burton’s mind, the director, artist, writer, and eccentric child in all of us. Over 700 drawings, paintings, photographs, film and video works, storyboards, puppets, concept sketches, maquettes, costumes, and artwork from unrealized projects are presented in chronological order so that attendees can walk the path of Burton’s career to date. Each section of the exhibit refers to Burton’s adolescence in Burbank, California, where he experienced an outpouring of creative energy, mixing horror with humor, before he even thought about making the full-scale feature films archived here, like Edward Scissorhands, the Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Mars Attacks!. Ending with the “Beyond Burbank” series, the exhibition also includes new fixtures specifically designed for LACMA’s campus, like a deer-shaped topiary that originally appeared in Edward Scissorhands, and “Balloon Boy”, a 21-foot tall blue creature with many eyes looking forward into Burton’s future.
