Tim Burton Exhibit at Bell Lightbox

My first impression while viewing the Tim Burton exhibit at Bell Lightbox was that he must have been one strange kid, akin to the Addams Family. Right from the start, he seemed fascinated with monsters, creatures, blood, gore and the macabre. His drawing styles and subjects have not changed that significantly over the years. One would assume that Halloween must be his favourite day of the year, and indeed he does celebrate it with a series of drawings, mostly showing monsters dressing up to be more like regular humans. One wonders whether he feels more affinity with the monsters or the humans.

The exhibit acts as a retrospective of Burton's career with sketches, sculptures and memorabilia from his many films. Some items of note included Sweeney Todd's razor blades, Edward Scissorhands costume and topiary, Catwoman outfit, Batman masks, The Peguin's baby carriage, Ed Wood's angora sweater, and the Pumpkin Scarecrow from Sleepy Hollow.

Models of his animated characters were on display including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride and Nightmare Before Christmas. Only Tim Burton could make Santa Claus look creepy!

While it was interesting seeing the artifacts from his famous movies, what I found even more so was to see his work as a young man. An entire section was devoted to his early years growing up in Burbank, California. Displayed was his "Crush Litter" slogan which won him an anti-litter competition in his teens, his first attempt at a children's book called "The Giant Zlig" and many early sketches and drawings, including his studies of Men, Women, and Couples.

A reoccurring theme in much of his work involves the outcast or misunderstood misfit, be it poor Edward with his scissors as hands, Stainboy, Tragic Toys for Girls and Boys, Sweeney Todd, Ed Wood .. the list goes on and on.

One of the first animated shorts that he wrote and directed (but did not animate) was called Victor Malloy. Playing on a continuous loop at the start of the exhibit, the film perfectly reflected my imagination of what Tim Burton's childhood could have been like. The film is about a 7-year old who thinks he is Vincent Price and spends his time alone in the dark performing experiments and reading Edgar Allan Poe. Some how he actually Vincent Price himself to narrate the film, which must have been a great thrill for him.

There were cartoons with funny captions where he played on common sayings but added his own bizzare, yet humourous twists. Imagine the caption "Mental Floss" with a creature pulling floss through his head out either sides of his ears, or "Holding hands" where two monstrous lovers with multiple tentacles are holding onto decapitated hands, or this cartoon of "Seeing Eye Dogs".

Tim Burton even wrote poetry in his early days, which further highlighted his strange sense of humour. Titles included as "My Girlfriend Is a Statue", and my personal favourite, "Robot Boy" for which he also made drawings and sculptures. The poem describes Mr. and Mrs. Smith, who start to realize there is something with their new "baby"...

"You see, there still is some question
about the child's gender,
but we think that its father
is a microwave blender."
...

"And Robot Boy grew
to be a young man.
Though he was often mistaken
for a garbage can."

The exhibit, which had an enormously successful run at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, does a good job at showcasing the talent, creativity and accomplishments of Tim Burton.