It Came from Burbank: Exhibiting the Art of Tim Burton

Abstract

In November of 2009, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York organized an exhibition that presented a detailed look at the creative works of Burton. Featured in the exhibit were over 700 drawings, paintings, photographs, amateur and early short films, and sculptures created by Burton over the course of his career. The majority of the artwork came from Burton’s own private collection and was presented for public consumption for the very first time. Also included in the vast exhibit were props, costumes, maquettes, and puppets used in the production of Burton’s feature films. The enormously popular exhibit ended its run at the MoMA in April 2010, after which it appeared at the Australian Center for the Moving Image in Melbourne, and the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. Burton’s exhibit then returned to the United States for a stint at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from May 2011 until the very appropriate date of October 31, 2011, before finally moving on to the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, where it resided until August 5, 2012. I had a chance to visit the exhibition at the LACMA in the summer of 2011 and the following observations are drawn from my experience of attending the event.