BY CHYNA GELB
Over spring break I went to New York City
to walk around, shop, see some interesting
characters, and visit the Museum of Modern
Art (MoMA). It was decided that while we were there we would visit the Tim Burton
exhibit.
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CMGS332@PSU.EDU
We had pre-chosen reserved times as there were to be a limited amount of people in the
exhibit at a time. What a disappointment it was to realize that not only did the museum
not bother to stick to reserved times, but there was not anyone around checking to see
that the limit had not been met. Regardless of the mob of people, we decided it was now
or never and moved forward to try and get to the exhibit.
You walk in through the mouth of some creature created by Burton, and you see several
statues and figurines made from various mediums scattered throughout the first room.
The next only path in is through a tiny walkway with a wall of video clips and short car
toons playing. They seemed like something good to watch, but with the amount of people
shoved onto this pathway, it was no place for someone interested in actually paying atten
tion to what was being played.
The next couple of areas are really just a big room sectioned off into three parts.
There were plenty of the aforementioned figurines and statues of characters and set
pieces, along with memorabilia from movies such as The Nightmare Before Christmas,
Beetlejuice, and Edward Scissorhands. The scissor hand and the many faces of Jack Skel
lington were there, as well as suits and pieces of clothing from Beetlejuice and Batman.
For anyone who has seen Tim Burton's movies, it was a nice little collection of things
anyone would love to have sitting in their room somewhere to show off.
The other thing that was present at the exhibit, like small wonders and jewels of their
Museum going gets tough
own, were his personal sketches and drawings hung up all over the walls. You can see in
these just what goes on in Burton's mind as many of them are of no real thing at all, but
a mixture of this and that, leading into characters we have known, and characters or ideas
we will never seen. It was definitely worth it being pushed and shoved by the mob of
people, mostly inconsiderate to the fact that you are also trying to see just what they are,
just to be able to see the sketches and drawings from his personal sketchbook.
We ended up not spending a whole lot of time at the Tim Burton exhibit. The crowd
eventually became overwhelming and the glimpses we did get satisfied our curiosity.
The rest of the museum, while not so crowded, was not much different from the Burton
exhibit. Unfortunately, it seemed as though many of the people were there solely for pic
tures with the works of art, rather than actually seeing the art itself. Flashes were going
off left and right, despite the number or signs and warnings from security, people were
frenzied around certain pieces and could not be moved aside so that others could see.
Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory was the smallest painting in the room, yet it
took almost 20 minutes to even get a full view of the painting. Person after person wanted
a photograph with it, of it, around it.
It seems as though people have become quite distanced from the reason that art is dis
played in the first place. It is there to be viewed, not fought over. Museums are to be a
place where one can view the works, think about them, write, draw, examine. I go to
museums a couple of times a year, and I see this trend growing no matter what time of
the year, what day of the week, or time of the day you go (although it is always busier on
weekends and holidays). Next time you go to a museum, just keep in mind that others are
there to view the work the same as you are. Also, there are reasons they ask you for no
flash photography, and ask you not to stand on, touch, or move pieces of work.
Keep it real, keep it considerate, and keep it under some sort of control please.
Pictured above is the Tim Burton wall.
Photo by Chyna Geib/ The Capital Times