The Last of Its Kind
It was mesmerizing…THE tree at Rockefeller Center, all the window displays competing for your attention, the jolly “Ho Ho Ho’s” and ring-jinga-lingle from the artificial santa’s posted on every street corner…Ahhh my heart swelled with Christmas spirit! So much in fact that I needed a break.
The alternative?
To visit the Museum of Modern Art and take in the Tim Burton exhibition.
I’m aware of who Tim Burton is as a movie maker: Edward Scissor Hands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hallow just to name a few. I never realized the depth and magnitude of this creative genius until I stepped in through the gallery doors! Shuffling past the displays of sketches, drawings and paintings I was introduced to morbidly abrasive and disfunctional characters, one after the other – that were surprisingly charming and vulnerable. A complete contradictory justaposition of sorts! (woah – now that’s a tongue twister).
Most of his work appeared character based, but there were a number of pieces that showed off his agreeable sense of composition – namely his studies for The Nightmare Before Christmas. Absolutely stunning! I would hang those on my wall any day.
The exhibition runs from November 22/09 to April 26/10. If you’re in the area and are overwhelmed by your own nightmares before Christmas (or New Year’s or Valentine’s Day or Easter), check out the exhibition for a dose of therapeutic refuge.
Excerpt from The Nightmare Before Christmas