It's like his head exploded and all his imagination matter has splattered against black and green walls, I thought while walking through the exhibit "Tim Burton" at
MoMA.
In fact, we weren't too far from being in a head as we had to walk through "
Creature's Mouth" to gawk at the over 700 pieces of original artwork, movie props and conceptual art.
What makes Burton's art so compelling is his humor, surrealistic approach and simplicity. He never strays into technical elements of art. That could be why when Burton worked for Disney, he quit after four years because he couldn't stand the idea of redundantly drawing foxes in
The Fox and The Hound. And when he was an illustrator for
The Black Cauldron he was told that his creatures were too scary.
Burton's unconventional doodles, paintings and photographs are striking and unforgettable. His art is like his movies, vibrant yet bleak, Gothic and fairy tale-esque. At times I wished that they were more dark, but Burton has never been entirely macabre. Just an inverted band geek that needed an outlet for his questioning emotions. And although he is making films, deep down that band geek still shines through his art.
Click
here to download a PDF of the Tim Burton Family Activity Guide.
Click
here to download a PDF of the Checklist. (It has a bunch of the artwork!)
“Tim Burton” continues through April 26 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Visit www.moma.org for more information.
"Never shoot a constipated poodle."
Untitled
For more things macabre, check out this
blog.
