From "Beetlejuice" to "Frankenweenie," cinema-goers know Tim Burton for his eerie yet quirky take on things. His lesser known artwork, which often serves as the basis for his films, is now on show in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
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Welcome to Tim Burton's macabre world of art
His works are spooky and dreamy, but also funny and childish. Filmmaker Tim Burton created whole new worlds - often with a pencil or paintbrush before moving to film. A touring exhibition shows rare artworks by Burton.
Image: 2015 Tim Burton, All Rights Reserved
Get inside Tim Burton's head
Fans can't get enough of his quirky take on horror. Through rare drawings, paintings and sketches, the touring exhibition "The World of Tim Burton" gives exceptional insights into how filmmaker and artist Tim Burton actually thinks. It is now on show in Shanghai and will move on to Hong Kong in November.
Image: 2015 Tim Burton, All Rights Reserved
Burton borrows from Max Ernst
The exhibition previously stopped in other large cities such as New York, Prague and Tokyo. In Germany, it was only shown in the 44,000-person town of Brühl. It's no coincidence that the tiny Max Brühl Museum stumbled upon Tim Burton. The American artist's work - like "Blue Girl with Wine" from 1997 - bears an uncanny resemblance to that of surrealist Max Ernst, who was born in Brühl in 1891.
Image: 2015 Tim Burton, All Rights Reserved
Alternative realities
For Tim Burton, reality is not singular and variations on the norm are the common thread in the exhibition. Using alienating techniques like masks or coverings, Tim Burton plays with reality - like here in "Green Man" from 1999.
Image: 2015 Tim Burton, All Rights Reserved
Vision of 'the others'
Other worlds have always interested artists and filmmakers. Burton often sketches ideas that later turn up in his films. "Saucer and Aliens" was created from 1972-74 and was reflected on many years later in films like "Mars Attacks!" (1996) and "Planet of the Apes" (2001).
Image: 2015 Tim Burton, All Rights Reserved
Fairytales rewritten
Fairytale figures often find their way into Tim Burton's pictures as well as his films. Sometimes he creates abstract, fairytale-like settings, while at other times he remakes a classic - like "Alice in Wonderland" in 2010. This reindeer from 1994-1999 looks like he could become the main character in a yet unwritten Christmas tale.
Image: 2015 Tim Burton, All Rights Reserved
Dark and childish
Comic often meets horror in Tim Burton's paintings, drawings and films. This drawing from 1997 is typical of Burton's style: The dreamy, black-and-white tones seem to contradict the childish face.
Image: 2015 Tim Burton, All Rights Reserved
The artistic evolution of a work
Drawings become films, sketches turn into screenplays and oil paintings are shaped into scenarios for full-blown blockbusters. Usually the public can only admire Tim Burton's oeuvre in the cinema. Through the exhibition "The World of Tim Burton," which has been touring the world since 2009, fans have also gained access to his art. (Pictured: "The Last of Its Kind" from 1994).
Image: 2015 Tim Burton, All Rights Reserved
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After traveling through cultural hubs like New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Prague and Tokyo, the exhibition "The World of Tim Burton" has landed in a tiny town on the Rhine River: Brühl.
But that's no coincidence. Brühl is the birthplace of surrealist artist Max Ernst and home to the Max Ernst Museum - and Burton's works fit right into the surrealist tradition.
Max Ernst listened to his heart: A pivotal characteristic of surrealist art is seeking out subconscious emotions and thoughts and expressing them. From painters Salvador Dalí and René Magritte to filmmakers like Luis Buñuel and Man Ray, surrealists from art and film trusted their feelings, and constantly wanted to be surprised by what would come to the surface.
Burton: the 'morbid-fantastical eccentric'
The 56-year-old filmmaker came to Brühl himself on Sunday (16.08.2015) to open the exhibition. Nevertheless, he told the press he had mixed feelings about the show, saying it felt like he was "opening his closet and showing people his dirty laundry."
Burton started his career as an illustrator with Disney, but quickly found that the innocent world of Mickey Mouse, Sleeping Beauty and Ariel was too constrained for his quirky imagination. He went on to create his own fantasy figures - including the sewn-mouthed puppets he's perhaps best known for - that mix animal and human, laughter and fear.
Visitors to the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl can look forward to "a journey into the head of the morbid-fantastical eccentric," summed up museum director Achim Sommer.
"The World of Tim Burton" runs through January 3, 2016.