AMERICAN MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE
PRINT: SALUTE TO RON HOWARD
This catalog celebrated the life and work of Ron Howard as well as the Museum of the Moving Image and its range of amazing programs and influence on the film community. It was given out to the attendees of the black-tie Salute event, which aired on the Bravo network.
SAMPLE COPY/EXCERPT FROM THE CATALOG’S “MUSEUM” SECTION:
CORE EXHIBITION: BEHIND THE SCREEN
Spanning two floors, Moving Image’s core exhibition, Behind the Screen, takes visitors through the art, craft, science, technology, and collaboration behind what we see every day in motion pictures, television, and digital media. This diverse museum-going experience features 1,600 items from the Museum’s collection, three commissioned works of art, over five hours of audio-visual material, and an engaging set of computer-based interactive experiences. Gallery talks, equipment demonstrations, and information stations are offered to supplement what’s on display and provide additional insight.
Smaller, changing exhibitions serve to complement Behind the Screen and to draw visitors’ attention to particular aspects of film and TV culture or to recent additions to the collection. Gumby and the Art of Stop-Motion Animation runs from summer until winter, and marks the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved and ubiquitous green clay character conceived by animation pioneer Art Clokey in 1955. The exhibition delves into the history of not only a pop culture icon, but the means of his production, with daily demonstrations of stop-motion animation techniques that begin with the creation of a Gumby figure, all given on an actual Gumby set. The exhibition also showcases original Gumby props, products, and prototypes, and opens up the behind-the-scenes world of Gumby, Pokey, and friends (and Clokey, their creator) through still photographs, scripts, and storyboards. Of course, the Museum also screens classic Gumby episodes as well as the feature film Gumby: The Movie, and Gumbasia, the original short film in which Clokey created the first version of the character.
In conjunction with the screening series Tim Burton’s Big Adventures, the Museum presented Tim Burton Drawings, two dozen conceptual sketches and watercolors relating to twelve of Burton’s films. Burton, who studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts and served as an apprentice Disney animator, carries sketchbook and watercolors everywhere he goes, and employs drawing and painting in fleshing out his imaginative and whimsical film ideas. This artwork is a vital element in Burton’s creative and collaborative processes, and he frequently shares his drawings with the set designers, actors, and writers involved in his film projects. Burton’s memorable films stand out among the most visually poetic and imaginative works in contemporary cinema, and the Museum was proud to afford its visitors a glimpse of the director’s creative practice along with the films we’ve all come to know and love.