The Tim Burton Exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art

The Tim Burton Exhibit will be at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City from November 22^nd, 2009 to April 26^th, 2010 so time is running out if you're interested in seeing the exhibit. The recent release of the Alice in Wonderland movie directed by Tim Burton is likely to cause an increase in the number of people interested in viewing the art. Tim Burtons other movies include include Vincent (1982), Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Batman Returns (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas) (1993), Ed Wood (1994), Mars Attacks! (1996), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Big Fish (2003), Corpse Bride (2005), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and Sweeney Todd (2007).

The gallery that holds the exhibit is rather small and full of visitors, so timed tickets are required on weekends and recommended on weekdays. You can purchase these in advance on the MoMA website (www.moma.org) so you will not have to wait when you arrive.

Even with the timed tickets, we found that the gallery was packed full of people while we were there. Most of the pieces are rather small, so you will need to be patient and move through the exhibit with everyone else if you want to be able to see anything. Plan to spend about an hour or two inside and about half of a day to see the whole museum.

The exhibit itself was very interesting. It starts by leading guests down a hallway where short, soundless videos are playing. Next, you pass into a dark room with art glowing under black lights. Finally, you enter a larger room that is completely covered in Burton's art. There are 3D pieces scattered about the room, and some large paintings, but most of the exhibit is made up of smaller pencil and colored sketches. Many of these look like they have been taken directly from his notebooks where he comes up with ideas for characters and storylines. There were many funny, handwritten poems to read. One of my favorite parts was the display of costumes from his movies. I was especially impressed by the Edward Scissorhands costume.

I recommend that anyone who is interested in Tim Burton's work try to view this exhibit. If possible, go at an off-time so that the gallery will not be so crowded and you can take your time exploring and enjoying.