OK, so we didn't make the Contra release party - too much walking and shopping meant that we were a.) really tired and b.) not up to carrying our stuff around or leaving it all somewhere during a party.
Still, we had a pretty good Thursday in New York. Since it was my week off, I figured a day trip would be nice. First thing in the morning, we went to the Modern Museum of Art to see the Tim Burton exhibit, and everything else, of course. We also hit the Carnegie Deli for big sandwiches, Central Park for a sit, Chinatown for bubble tea and purses, St. Mark's Place, Other Music, Peculiar Pub and Chipotle to round out the night. I know, I was super excited about the Contra release party in my last post, but can you blame us for being tired?
Anyway, what I really wanted to write about was the Tim Burton exhibit. It was fantastic! MOMA's probably my favorite museum because it has so many famous paintings - including van Gogh's "Starry Night" and Dali's "The Persistence of Memory (Melting Clocks)" - and lots by famous painters like Picasso, Miro, Monet, Matisse, etc. (Note: Seeing "Starry Night" for the first time about two years ago was almost as exciting as seeing "Guernica" at el Museo de Reina Sofia in Madrid, but I digress.) Aside from the museum being great with its regular exhibits, its special exhibits make it exciting to visit over and over again.
That's where the Tim Burton exhibit comes in. It's there from Nov. 22, 2009 to April 26, 2010, and it's a must-see for any Burton fan. There are illustrations from all his movies, actual characters, hand-written story lines and lots more in the world of Tim Burton. We walked into this long hallway with some short films playing on the screen before getting into the actual main exhibit, which was huge and pretty packed. (Note: This is pretty popular, so it might be worth it to get there early and go there first. Also, there's no photos allowed, so be prepared to hear a lot of angry guards yelling "No photos!" and telling people to put their cell phones away.)
The first thing that grabbed our attention was Oogie Boogie from "The Nightmare Before Christmas." He was huge, which makes sense because he was big in the movie. Once we got inside the main room, we got to see all the puppets from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and even a bunch of Jack's heads. It was really cool.
Also, there were all the sketches from "Vincent," his first short, along with the film being played on a screen next to it. Apparently Burton described all his characters on paper - drawing paper with no lines and in handwritten cursive - before he wrote the story lines. And he would also write the entire story on one sheet of drawing paper with no lines, in handwritten cursive. He described Vincent as a complex boy and wrote down all the emotions Vincent would feel. It was incredible. In the "Edward Scissorhands" he described Edward, a robot who is very human-like. His description and the story were in-depth, yet short, complete with cross-outs. The exhibit was like watching an artist at work. It should Burton's process every step of the way. It included illustrations of characters like Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and even the Penguin or the Joker.
The best part of all, though, was a children's book he wrote as a teenager. Now, it wasn't surrounded by people like the exhibits on his popular movies were, but I think this part had the most heart. It showed his handwritten cover letter to Disney that he sent along with this colorful illustrated book, "The Great Zlig," which was written and illustrated by him when he was a teenager in 1976. The story is about a Zlig who gets changed into a worm and then doesn't want to be a worm. It's adorable and heartfelt and very Burton at the core. What's more heartfelt is his letter. It's in cursive on unlined paper and begins with "Dear Sirs." It also includes a reply letter that tells him his illustrations are good despite his lack of tools to produce it, and to keep trying.
I'm glad he did.
(Photo taken by me All Points West 2008.)
