Last week, I checked out the highly mix-reviewed Tim Burton show with a few friends. It was an okay experience. There was a lot to take in; the press release did note that there were over 700 drawings, paintings, photographs, moving-image works, storyboards, puppets, concept artworks, maquettes, costumes, and cinematic ephemera, including art from a number of unrealized and little-known personal projects.
Whether what was on displayed was art is debatable. I don’t think so, but I’ll save that discussion for another time.
For the true Tim Burton fan, I may recommend the show, but for the slightly curious or the art snobs, I’d point you to press pictures taken by The Fox is Black, Hypebeast, or Hi-fructose. You’ll get the gist of the show.
Nevertheless, one thing that I found impressive was that even though the show is one and a half-months in, it continues to draw a large crowd. Outside the pavilion, mid-afternoon, there were long lines of people snaking around the south and south east sides, waiting to get in. Fortunately, being a museum member allowed my friends and I to bypass the queue. If I had to wait, I’m sure my okay experience would instead have been pretty shitty.
Though I did take pictures with my phone, the museum policy is that there is no picture-taking allowed, which I’m sure is mainly due for crowd control.