Australian Centre for the Moving Image presents "Tim Burton: The Exhibition", an outstanding international exhibition in Australia under the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces banner.
Until October 2010, ACMI hosts a unique exhibition direct from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. An Australian exclusive, Tim Burton: The Exhibition is a landmark exhibition charting Tim Burton's creative vision and process from his earliest work to the spectacular Alice in Wonderland. {source}
The exhibition is currently being held at Federation Square, Melbourne. Open daily from 10am-6pm with special late night viewing on Thursdays until 10pm.
Outside Federation Square...
Near the entrance (inside Federation Square), you'll see the Bat Mobile from the movie "Batman".
There are no taking of photographs inside the exhibition venue, the staff are very strict and roam around to make sure that no one is taking photographs.
The exhibition was fascinating. I learned so many things about Tim Burton and his work, plus I got to somehow see his "human side" as they showed some of his letters written to friends and people he's worked with. For example, I saw a letter he wrote to Johnny Depp asking if a certain dialogue for "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" is appropriate enough to be added to the movie's script.
Tim Burton is a gifted artist. He draws, paints, photographs. He is a story teller and a poet. He is a writer and a director. His creations are uncanny, unique and creatively captivating. This exhibition showed how Tim Burton started out in his career, how he develops a story, the story behind the films he's made and his unpublished works.
He also created maquettes from his film and non-film projects.
One of my favorite films was of his, Edward Scissorhands. When we entered the exhibition, we heard the magical music from the film and saw the costume of Edward Scissorhands. I swear, I almost brought out my camera to take a photo of it. *sigh* It felt surreal to see it.
His latest film, "Alice in Wonderland" was a fabulous part of the exhibition as we saw the costumes used by the lead characters of the movie. The three dresses worn by Alice in the movie were all there. I wanted to feel the fabric of all Alice's dresses but touching the exhibits weren't allowed too. I'm truly fascinated seeing the costumes from his movies.
Each film he made was featured in the exhibition, even the old ones like Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Batman, Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
One of his creations I love the most were his poems: funny, straightforward, easy to read and sometimes poignant.
Viewing and being engrossed with his collection took us more than an hour and a half. If you were to visit, I suggest you allot at least two hours to truly appreciate his work. We left at nearly closing time spending about 15 minutes at the ACMI Store (can be found inside Federation Square) where you can buy a range of Burton Merchandise.
My Husband and I bought the the Tim Burton The Exhibition Catalogue (AUD$24.95) and a few pieces of his artworks produced in postcards.
Featuring over 70 pages of informative essays, glorious full-colour images and a chronology of Burton's career, this publication was the perfect complement to our exhibition experience.
If you're ever in Melbourne, catch this very special exhibition. I highly recommend this to art and film enthusiasts and to anyone who loves his films.
Tim Burton: The Exhibition
Federation Square
Thursday 24 June - Sunday 10 October 2010
Open daily 10am-6pm.
Special late night Thursdays until 10pm
Open until midnight on 7-9 October!
Full $19 Concession $14 ACMI Members $13
Child $10 (5-15 years) Family $55 (2 adults, 3 children)
