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ted.com

20

Nov

2009

Tim Burton’s MoMA Retrospective

By Maria Popova

What rotten eyeballs have to do with creative storytelling and the visual heritage of our era.

Tim Burton is one of the great creative storytellers of our day, purveying delightful darkness since the 80’s. This Sunday, the Museum of Modern Art open a major retrospective of his work, from Beetlejuice to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by way of the fascinating photos, props, puppets and hand-drawings Burton has done over the course of the past two decades.

And it comes as no surprise that Burton himself would direct this brilliant spot promoting the exhibition — including a beautiful animated reconstruction of the MoMA logo.

Part of what makes Burton so extraordinary is that he is a true contemporary Renaissance man — director, producer, fiction writer, illustrator, photographer and concept artist. In an era of micro-niche specialization and outsourcing of everything, it’s refreshing to see that the singularity of artistic vision and creative control is still alive.

Taking inspiration from sources in pop culture, Burton has reinvented Hollywood genre filmmaking as a spiritual experience, influencing a generation of young artists working in film, video, and graphics.

The exhibition spans an enormous breadth of Burton’s work, from his earliest non-professional films to his big blockbusters to never-before-seen pieces and unrealized projects.

If you’re in the NYC area, this exhibition is a must-see. And, if not, you can still experience it vicariously through this excellent sneak-peek slideshow.

via New York Magazine

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 3:56 am in art, culture, design, film and was tagged , , , , .

33 Responses

  1. Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    brainpicker on November 20th, 2009 at 10:01 am

  2. RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    artrox on November 20th, 2009 at 10:02 am

  3. this would be worth the flight RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    sweeneysgrocery on November 20th, 2009 at 10:02 am

  4. RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    chagota on November 20th, 2009 at 10:04 am

  5. RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    Schwartzie14 on November 20th, 2009 at 10:05 am

  6. RT @Schwartzie14: RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    RupaNaipaul on November 20th, 2009 at 10:08 am

  7. ‘Papitos, é dele a Noiva Cadaver, né?’ (Jojo) RT @brainpicker Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    gziller on November 20th, 2009 at 10:10 am

  8. RT @Schwartzie14: RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    deviantwetz on November 20th, 2009 at 10:16 am

  9. RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    nivermoore on November 20th, 2009 at 10:25 am

  10. a sneak peak inside the mind of tim burton. His MoMA retrospective opens sunday. http://ow.ly/D3lv (via @Schwartzie14 + @brainpicker)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    nkarch on November 20th, 2009 at 10:36 am

  11. RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retrospective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    brittapetersen on November 20th, 2009 at 10:40 am

  12. RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    gemofgibraltar on November 20th, 2009 at 11:05 am

  13. Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv (via @Schwartzie14)

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    MrClean73 on November 20th, 2009 at 11:56 am

  14. RT @brainpicker Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    songtree on November 20th, 2009 at 1:59 pm

  15. RT @brainpicker: Sneak peek at the Tim Burton MoMA retroscpective, opening this Sunday http://ow.ly/D3lv

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    cwolpe on November 20th, 2009 at 2:52 pm

  16. Tim Burton “reinvented Hollywood genre filmmaking as a spiritual experience”. @brainpicker’s sneak peek @ MOMA show http://bit.ly/8r7jPq

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    marcusod on November 20th, 2009 at 8:03 pm

  17. [#ART] RT @contrafactos: Tim Burton’s MoMA Retrospective http://ow.ly/Em9n

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    fjfonseca on November 21st, 2009 at 3:56 pm

  18. RT @fjfonseca: [#ART] RT @contrafactos: Tim Burton’s MoMA Retrospective http://ow.ly/Em9n nice!

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    rwable on November 21st, 2009 at 3:58 pm

  19. RT @fjfonseca: [#ART] RT @contrafactos: Tim Burton’s MoMA Retrospective http://ow.ly/Em9n

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    hanskfroschauer on November 21st, 2009 at 4:05 pm

  20. Tim Burton’s MoMA Retrospective | Brain Pickings http://bit.ly/655Qyn http://bit.ly/6zNFtu

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    catmyn on November 21st, 2009 at 5:11 pm

  21. burton @ moma. must see. http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2009/11/20/tim-burton-moma/

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    emh on November 21st, 2009 at 11:55 pm

  22. mais Tim Burton no MoMa, NY http://bit.ly/5ndWlI

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    carolinatami on November 22nd, 2009 at 3:26 pm

  23. RT @carolinatami: mais Tim Burton no MoMa, NY http://bit.ly/5ndWlI

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    felipeparucci on November 22nd, 2009 at 3:30 pm

  24. Tim Burton’s MoMA Retrospective: http://tinyurl.com/y9md5h9 @brainpicker

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    elzote on November 23rd, 2009 at 4:48 am

  25. RT @elzote: Tim Burton’s MoMA Retrospective: http://tinyurl.com/y9md5h9 @brainpicker

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    inquiettudes on November 23rd, 2009 at 5:12 am

  26. Tim Burton at MoMA – What rotten eyeballs have to do with creative storytelling and the visual heritage of our era http://bit.ly/43Gdjp #Art

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    sanjeevn on November 24th, 2009 at 9:42 am

  27. Retrospective al mas de lo más de lo más coool para mi gusto (y tengo buen gusto) en el MOMA. Mr. Tim Burton http://bit.ly/6DFjIB

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    verde on November 24th, 2009 at 2:49 pm

  28. Al que ande de paso por NY. http://bit.ly/6DFjIB

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    verde on November 24th, 2009 at 2:51 pm

  29. Great work for the TIm Burton MoMA retrospective by @bigspaceship http://is.gd/53r4J More about the show http://is.gd/53r5g

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    brainpicker on November 25th, 2009 at 11:30 am

  30. RT @brainpicker: Great work for the TIm Burton MoMA retrospective by @bigspaceship http://is.gd/53r4J More about the show http://is.gd/53r5g

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    WaltPascoe on November 25th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

  31. RT @brainpicker: Great work for the TIm Burton MoMA retrospective by @bigspaceship http://is.gd/53r4J More about the show http://is.gd/53r5g

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    cwolpe on November 25th, 2009 at 1:17 pm

  32. RT @brainpicker Tim Burton’s MoMA Retrospective | Brain Pickings http://ow.ly/1mIuAM

    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

    pablet3 on November 25th, 2009 at 2:09 pm

  33. I viewed the collection yesterday and was blown away. I think the exhibit really demonstrated the evolution of Burton over the past 3 decades and I thought the multimedia aspects were a great touch. I’ve written more here: http://popculture2point0.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/a-burton-exhibit-before-christmas/

    LaurenBegley on December 13th, 2009 at 10:57 pm

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