An Unquiet Mind – the Work of Tim Burton

Macabre.  Bemused.  Tortured.  Whimsical.  Alienated. Pick one… or two.  Tim Burton has made a significant living forcing his demons on both Disney executives and Helena Bonham Carter.

The LACMA exhibition ending on Halloween is exhaustive yet exhilarating, which I am sure you’ve already heard.  Over 700 works are displayed and critics have been, well… critical.  There’s a lot.  But then, there’s a lot in the man’s head.  Once a thought erupts, a note soon follows.  Then a sketch.  Then an outline, a storyboard, a sculpture, a mini-movie… you know the rest.  And it’s all here.

Suffice it to say I walked away feeling slightly diminished by my inferior productivity, yet giggling.  Smirking at his mischievous eye.  A sub-plot soon erupted however, once I was “caught” documenting the installation.     Snapping pix against the security guards’ orders provoked reprimand.   “I’m sorry.  Photography is not allowed.”  All I needed was one challenge and I was off.  My friend wandered away in an effort to feign disassociation as I clearly was not to be stopped.    The actual exhibit blurred  in my frantic scheming to photograph the forbidden ephemera.  A lesson more for authority than the oppressed.

Stealthily carrying on, the videos and drawings and photographs and costumes and sculptures enchanted.  So, for those of you who will never visit – you’re welcome.

The genesis of his wonky characters rests in a misfit youth, yet somehow relates to a large enough mass to sell theatre tickets.  Hmmm…. probably because we were all misfit youths.  And let’s face it, it all looks great on a coffee mug.   “Exit Through the Gift Shop.”

Bonus points if you can identify what film the  props are from….