Tim Burton @MuseumModernArt

Sometimes you just need a day out of the office, away from the computer, and get out for some creative inspiration and recharge the batteries. Last Friday we closed the office and took a trip into NYC to the Tim Burton exhibit at The Museum of Modern Art. I’d been looking forward to seeing the show since it opened, and it had been far too long since I’d been to MoMA.

You enter the exhibit through a giant mouth and into a hallway where an animated short is playing on multiple monitors, then into a dark room with a sculpture lit with black light and some paintings on black velvet… which just immediately sets the tone.

Then you head into the gallery, which is small, and was very crowded. We had purchased timed tickets but no one was checking them yet when we went in.

I wasn’t expecting such depth to the exhibit – there were sketches from High School, letters to enter drawing contests, rejection note from Disney on a kids book concept he submitted (in High School), college sketches…. I suppose Tim has methodically saved every little bit over the years (now I don’t feel as crazy for still having my comic strips drawn in grade school, or high school notebooks filled with doodles)

The exhibit continues with tons of drawings, all the way up to movie props like the suit from Edward Scissorhands (on a Johnny Depp mannequin), the cape from Sleepy Hollow… and lots of character models too.

Check out the interactive site for a lot of the behind the scenes setup of the exhibit, and snippets of interviews with Tim. MoMA also has a promo with Target, where you can get into the museum for free on Friday nights. (expect some crowds on that – it was starting as we were leaving and the lobby was really filling up)

After, we hit up more of the museum.  Though I’ve seen most of the works before, it’s still always a treat. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed seeing Rothko’s large color fields in person… they just aren’t as impressive in books. And of course we had to see Monet’s Water Lilies, which take up a whole room.

While on our “Day Out”, we also made a pilgrimage to the Apple Store on 59^th street, since we’ve never seen the “Cube” in person. We already own way too many Apple products, so we just looked around.

We walked around Central Park, which was full of snow and people sledding. For dinner we ended up at “5 Napkin Burger” for a very tasty homemade Veggie Burger (get it w/Gruyere cheese and be sure to order their onion rings – simply the best I’ve had – and get an Alabash White on draft)

We wandered around Times Square and Rockefeller center, then up to the “Top of The Rock” for a nighttime view of Manhattan.

It was refreshing to get out and do something different for a change, and I think we’ll need to start heading out of the office more often.  It’s been ages since I’ve been to the MET…