TIM BURTON EXHIBITION AT MOMA
TAKING INSPIRATION FROM SOURCES IN POP CULTURE, TIM BURTON HAS REINVENTED HOLLYWOOD GENRE FILMMAKING AS A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE, INFLUENCING A GENERATION OF YOUNG ARTISTS WORKING IN FILM, VIDEO AND GRAPHICS.
America’s premier modern art gallery, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, is hosting an exhibition of 700 drawings, paintings and sculptures and other paraphernalia – with pieces dating back to early childhood drawings- all by Burton. Following the current of his visual imagination right through to his latest work, the exhibition presents artwork generated during the conception and production of his films, his earliest non-professional films and student art.
In addition Burton’s entire cinematic oeuvre of 14 feature films will screen over the course of the five-month exhibition in the Museum’s Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters: 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), Planet of the Apes (2001), Big Fish (2003), Corpse Bride (2005), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and Sweeney Todd (2007). His early short films Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984) will also be screened.
The exhibition will be at MoMA, New York from November 22, 2009 – April 26, 2010.
Burton is an acclaimed filmmaker, attending the California Institute of the Art. He was quickly drafted in to join the Disney animation ranks. But Burton was not suited to animation; they made him a conceptual artist. His concept drawings didn’t go down well as they were far too dark and twisted for the standard Disney fare. However, he soon set tow rok on his own projects. His early films were all mildly successful, but it was 1989’s Batman that made industry insiders sit up and take note.
Edward Scissorhands (1990) was the first time Burton had full creative control over a feature film; having written the story and also produced the movie. The film was a hit with filmgoers and critics alike, and, significantly, marked the beginning of Burton being taken seriously as an artist. His darkly surreal vision had returned audiences back to their own childhood vulnerability and in the process, created a modern fairy tale.
He has continued this tradition with stop-motion films The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Corpse Bride (2005), none of which did anything to dispel the image of Burton as a slightly macabre figure. Having once said, “I’ve always been misrepresented. You know, I could dress in a clown costume and laugh with the happy people but they’d still say I’m a dark personality,” he is further than ever from shaking off his ghoulish image, if the title sequence of 2007’s winter blockbuster, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is anything to go by.
Burton has also dabbled in poetry. His first ever film, Vincent, was in fact was based on a poem Burton had written himself. The short film tells the sad tale of Vincent Malloy, a suburban child who wants to be just like his idol, Vincent Price. Burton’s illustrated collection of poetry The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories (1997), gave birth to a wide variety of loveably macabre characters, such as ‘Oyster Boy’, a baby born as an oyster because his parents ate one too many of the salty dish and ‘Stain Boy’ whose superpower is to leave behind a filthy stain.
These intriguing characters are sure to be an indication of what to expect from Burton’s artworks, with curators already hailing him ‘the next Warhol.’ Deserved praise? We think so.
Words Almaz Ohene
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FASHION ON FILM
The fashion industry has long been the subject of much fascination. The recent spate of films charting the rise of designers and the day-to-day workings of fashion publications are set to be huge this summer, revealing what happens behind the scenes at some of the biggest names in fashion.
Fashion is considered to be one of the most glamorous industries there is and often forms the basis of TV shows and films. The Devil Wears Prada was centred around an assistant at a fashion magazine, The Hills’ Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port filmed many scenes as interns at Teen Vogue and fashion PR company People’s Revolution, Ugly Betty is set at the fictitious Mode magazine offices, Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw famously wrote for Vogue and Sacha Baron Cohen’s comic creation Brüno is a fashion designer. That’s without mentioning the numerous books dedicated to the subject matter. Filmmakers have cottoned on to the demand for all things fashion and the next few months are set to see several releases of related films.
Coco avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) is the French-language biographic tale of the world’s most famous designer, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, played by Audrey Tautou and directed by Anne Fontaine. The film, believed to be loosely based on Edmonde Charles-Roux’s book L’Irrégulière, follows the life of the two Chanel sisters as they work their way up the social ladder from young children dumped at an orphanage to Coco’s first forays into the fashion industry, working as a seamstress by day and a burlesque singer by night, and her ascent to the Paris A-list. There’s also a love interest intertwined in the tale, but as could only be expected from a film about legendary fashion designer, the outfits take centre stage.
The task of putting together Coco’s outfits fell to wardrobe designer Catherine Leterrier, who recreated many of Coco’s early looks as an impoverished young woman. Luckily, Chanel’s creative director Karl Lagerfeld cast a critical eye over Leterrier’s designs and approved her wardrobe choices for Coco, as well as allowing access to the label’s archive so that she could use authentic vintage pieces to complement a scene. This has culminated in a film worth seeing not only for its classic depiction of a rags-to-riches fairytale, but also for the fashion.
Coco Chanel is not the only designer to be hitting the big screen. Barbara Hulanicki is another fashion stalwart whose life is under the microscope in Beyond Biba: A Portrait of Barbara Hulanicki. The film focuses on the turbulent life of the owner of Biba, the fashion label synonymous with the Sixties which closed in 1975 after running into financial difficulties. Though the label relaunched in 2006, it was headed by designer Bella Freud instead of Hulanicki, who has quietly been working on various design projects in recent years, including a successful capsule collection for high street retailer Topshop. The documentary features the notoriously camera-shy Hulanicki herself, speaking candidly about her life. And she’s not the only one. Valentino: The Last Emperor is yet another documentary promising to reveal all about a designer. This time it’s the turn of Italy’s greatest couturier Valentino Garavani, a man so legendary he is known only by his forename.
So why are designers such as Hulanicki, who are usually keen to keep a low profile, deciding to allow the public and media such personal insights into their lives? Karl Lagerfeld recently appeared as himself in the documentary Lagerfeld Confidential, permitting French director Rodolphe Marconi to film him over a two year period for the purposes of the film. No areas were off limits; at Lagerfeld’s home, shopping in New York, photoshoots, his summer house in Biarritz. He spoke openly about controversial topics such as his homosexuality and allowed glimpses into both his world and that of Chanel. Normally, designers prefer to keep the media at arm’s length unless they have a collection to promote, especially those of Lagerfeld’s stature and charisma. So why did he choose to break with tradition and allow a film to be made about his world?
For anyone interested in fashion, the chance to discover what lies beneath Lagerfeld’s trademark sunglasses is an unmissable opportunity. But designers can be shrewd, and a documentary only lets the viewer in as far as the designer will allow. For a secretive personality such as Lagerfeld, who rarely gives anything away, even the most meagre titbits of information will be hungrily devoured by the media and dedicated fashion followers. And a film pending release is sure to drum up publicity for the designer and associated labels. Fashion is a secretive yet highly profitable industry, and documentaries are guaranteed cash-cows. Not that viewers will mind of course, as long as they get to see what happens behind closed doors at a prestigious fashion house and a generous helping of gorgeous clothes on the side.
Sound cynical? Take the forthcoming documentary The September Issue, the film based on the goings-on at US Vogue as the team prepare the September edition of the magazine. The focal character is of course the fearsome editor Anna Wintour, dubbed Nuclear Wintour due to her icy demeanour and silent chastisement of subordinates. Widely believed to be the inspiration behind Miranda Priestley, the fictitious editor of Runway magazine in The Devil Wears Prada, Wintour is credited with making or breaking the career of many a fledgling fashion designer. While you could be forgiven for thinking that the film would consist of 90 minutes of staff incurring her wrath, early reports have suggested that Wintour actually comes across as immensely likeable. But maybe that’s the plan. Wintour is a woman whose reputation precedes her, and when that reputation is as an ice queen, it’s understandable that she would want to change public perceptions.
This is not the first time Anna Wintour has allowed cameras to witness the inner workings of Vogue. CBS’ 60 Minutes with Anna Wintour already showed a more human side to her and sought to dispel the myths of working at the world’s biggest fashion bible. Whether The September Issue will endear viewers to her even further remains to be seen, but with a supporting cast including the Welsh ex-model-turned-Vogue creative director Grace Coddington, who has worked with Wintour for 20 years, and flamboyant editor-in-chief André Leon Talley, who also made a memorable guest appearance on The Hills, there should also be some amusing moments too.
It’s unusual to see so many fashion films released in such a short space of time, especially in cinemas, so fashion fans are in for a treat. It can’t be ignored that they will be a chance to see some extraordinary clothes- and characters.
Coco Before Chanel is released in cinemas on 31st July
Lagerfeld Confidential is available to buy on DVD now
Valentino: The Last Emperor is released on DVD on 8th September
The September Issue is released in cinemas 11th September
Check out our great DVD giveaway for the upcoming release of The September Issue here.
Words Kay Weston
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