Tim Burton at LACMA

If, ever, my love of Tim Burton and all things Burtonesque had faded in the slightest, it came back in raging waves as I wandered through the halls of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Saturday.

For an exhibit that opened over a month ago, crowds still overwhelm the hallways and presentation rooms, proof that traffic in LA is not limited to mere automobiles.

Although Burton has gained public fame and appreciation primarily as a film director, this exhibit publicizes his work as an artist- everything from cartoons to books and even school papers that he has written.

His animation, it seems to me, lies somewhere between Quentin Blake and the illustrator of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Some of it made me laugh, some made me think, and some of his stuff is downright... disturbing. No wonder he and Disney didn't make a good fit.

In addition to the advertisement poster flying all over the city, I purchased a book written and illustrated by the great Mr. Burton. It's a short book; a book of poems like something Shell Silverstein would write. Only in Timmy's case, his work is entitled, "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories." One particular poem stands out to me:

The Boy with Nails in his Eyes
put up his aluminum tree.
It looked pretty strange
because he couldn't really see. (illustration on the side)

One of Burton's first short films, "Frankenweenie," was envisioned to be a feature length animation. Disney, his employer at the time, commissioned a twenty-seven minute live-action short, deemed unsuitable for children and never released in theaters. Burton has been revisiting this vision and "Frankenweenie" will be released sometime in October 2012. Based on the stop motion dolls at the exhibit, it looks to be another classic.

What struck me most about this exhibit, though, (aside from the seamless integration of art and film), were the early film pieces put on display. Excerpts and even whole screenings of Burton's work were available to the masses, and while they hinted at the potential being developed, a lot of them... well, sucked. To put it bluntly. One short film he did in college even featured an amateur, hesitating zoom in/out of a character's face at dinner.

I mention this not to pick at a beloved and talented director but to suggest that though we media students consider ourselves well versed in the area of video and film, we must not forget that we are, now and ever, students. Always learning, always making mistakes, but getting better. And to make amateur mistakes does not mean that we are incapable of great things. But we must also not forget our humility, in case one day an art museum decides to dedicate a wing to exposing our life's work for the public to scrutinize.

The exhibit will continue, fittingly, until Halloween, so if you're in LA before then, don't miss it.