CMU School of Drama


Friday, November 08, 2024

‘It’s not so much about art, it's more about the process’: Tim Burton at the Design Museum

Wallpaper: ‘If you’d asked me a year ago what defines the Burtonesque, I might have referenced those usual aphorisms around spirals and stripes and checkerboards,’ offers Maria McLintock, the curator behind The World of Tim Burton, a comprehensive new survey at the Design Museum.

8 comments:

JFleck said...

Tim Burton created amazing work that holds up and is worthy to put on display. It’s kind of amazing that enough material is still around to make a display from. For the artists, the process is exactly why people want to struggle through the creative efforts and if they make money off the product, it helps fund the process. Though I am sure some only produce art to be known for their products, as people do in any industry, the number of artists who only enjoy the products of their efforts are small. An artist who is engaged by their art will show it through their process and into what they produce. The efforts and attention to detail (even though it may not look like it to some) show in their work through what technique they draw in, what colors are used to display, and other characteristics that show themselves in the work.

Jasper Gitlitz said...

This brief glimpse into Tim Burton and his creative processes is so fascinating. Tim Burton is one of those amazing creatives that is so widely known that it’s almost impossible to grow up not knowing who he is or at the very least, some of his movies. His range from the darker stories of Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas to the lighter material of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach is incredible yet he still maintains his unique and beloved style. Learning about how detailed his work is and the precision and care with which he creates is such a beautiful insight on the art that I grew up with. These are the things that make his art what it is and what make it so meaningful. I love all of these sketches and wish I had the opportunity to see this exhibit for myself.

Julia He said...

I’m so inspired by the idea conveyed in the passage. There are a lot of time, design is to result oriented. To be more specific, we design a product, we may always think what kind of things are accepted by the majority of customers. But not the original aspiration of designers themselves. I think it’s controversial to some extent. Since if the thing we are creating is not judged by anyone, it may be meaningless in commercial world. But if designers are always chasing for the so-called trend, they are potentially losing their own characters and lose their unique competitiveness. That said, when I’m trying to use my producer mindset, I might consider the balance depending on the type of show I’m working on. If it’s a non-profit show, like some experimental one, we may can have no restriction on what designers’ creation. While when doing a for-profit show, we may make a choice from designers’ creation based on the market.

Sara said...

Tim Burton's style is so cool! I think it's very interesting how he created such a iconic style. Everyone knows what Burton-esque is like. When people think of Tim Burton, such a specific image pops into our heads. That's great branding on his part. I wonder if there is a way to create a specific branding look with lighting. I guess not because lighting should really adjust to what the director wants artistically. Of course, the LD does have plenty of creative freedom, but they should be working mostly to achieve the artistic goals of the director. Besides, I would be working on such a wide variety of shows as an LD. Versatility is probably more important than branding myself with a certain "look" and my design style. I really like Tim Burton's work and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was pretty good!! I wasn't expecting it to be as good, but it surprised me.

Thioro d said...

Burton is one of the most unique artist of our time, his works have really had an impact on the media I consume and the the types of tropes I like. He has such a distinct style so, it’s only natural that he would have his own exhibition. He is an artist that truly deserves to portray his work and thought process in a physical space(I would love to see this exhibition; it would most likely be completely unique to any art exhibition I have ever seen). From what I’ve read from the article the set up of the exhibition seems to be pretty unique also, I like that it’s split up into different places and it seems like there’s cohesion between all of the exhibit spaces. I also like that this exhibition ties back into his childhood as well, so much of childhood is what effects artists present day work so I think understanding his childhood a little bit more is also a step in understanding his art a bit more and comprehending why he makes the artistic choices that he makes

Eliza Krigsman said...

I really love this line of thinking. The process to creating art (or in Burton’s case, decades of it) is arguably the most important aspect of film, maybe even beyond the impact of the final product. Burton’s directorial history is one soaked in the art of collaboration and iteration. Perhaps this is why his films are so well-received and impactful: when prioritizing the process over the product, one ends with a more significant product. The emphasis on the handmade is something I can certainly appreciate as well. For example, to have Christina Ricci’s dress from Sleepy Hollow be hand painted to have stripes is a compositionally interesting choice on multiple different levels. The difference in texture and shape, possibly color too, from the norm suggests things about the character in a given context. As Burton says, it really does take a village to create an inherently collaborative art.

Anonymous said...

Tim Burton has such a unique style, it defined an aspect of my childhood and I watched it slowly seep off of the silver screen and start spilling into my peers' personal styles. New Tim Burton Halloween costumes. The movement is not like any other and although it creates vastly different worlds and the given circumstances across the stories told, if in Tim Burton's mind he argued that the worlds are connected or that he is just creating a big metaverse world. I would not be surprised if that is what is happening in his mind. I also wonder how the people he is working with impacts the choices and environments made. If it is all about the process I can only imagine the relationships and the influence they have on the choices made. What aspects of the process do we never see? And How do we experience the process as an audience?

Tane Muller said...

by Tane