Tag: art exhibitions

‘Behind the Screen: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas’ at the McNay

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‘Behind the Screen: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas’ opens at the McNay Art Museum on Thursday September 28 and will be on display through Sunday December 31, 2017. Photo: McNay Art Museum, used with permission.

This week the McNay Art Museum is unveiling an exhibit that is both scary and heartwarming. Behind the Screen: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas returns to the McNay for the first time since 2013 and features puppets and set pieces filmed for the 1993 cult classic stop-animation movie that has delighted generations of Halloween and Christmas fans around the world. It will be on display in the main Theatre Arts gallery and the puppets and pieces will be staged more theatrically to help take visitors on a journey. The exhibit opens on Thursday September 28 and will be on display through Sunday December 31. (McNay Art Museum, 2017)

San Antonio native Robert LB Tobin acquired the pieces from a Southeby’s auction in New York City two months after the movie opened in theaters. The movie tells the story of Jack Skellington, King of Halloween Town and his heartfelt yet misguided attempt to take the place of Santa Claus in Christmas Town. It became a surprise hit and has evolved into a holiday movie-watching tradition from Halloween through New Year’s Day. The exhibit will give visitors a rare opportunity to discover how camera crews shot 24 stills for each second of film. The trick-or-treating Lock, Shock, and Barrel have removable heads for different expressions. Holes in the Clubhouse floor indicate the positions of the bathtub that carries the three on a mission to kidnap “Sandy Claws.” Puppets of Jack Skellington, his faithful ghost dog Zero, and his Halloween Town rival Oogie Boogie also are among the collection.

Two other McNay exhibitions with similar themes complement this exhibit. One is Stage Frights, Madness, Monsters, Mayhem which will be on display from Thursday September 28 through Sunday December 31 and features scene and costume designs for plays, operas, and ballets by writers and composers from Shakespeare to Lorca to Anne Rice’s adaptations and from Wagner to Stravinsky to Scott Joplin. Drawing on diverse folklore traditions and popular-culture forms, scene and costume designs entice both adults and children to explore the dark side of their imaginations and the world. The other consists of two large murals by renowned muralist and Blue Star Contemporary’s Artist-in-Residence Alex Rubio with a Dia de los Muertos theme.

McNay Art Museum
6000 N New Braunfels Ave
San Antonio, TX 78209
(210) 824-5368

Summer exhibitions open this week at Artpace

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The Summer 2017 Hudson (Show)Room and Main Space Exhibitions open this Thursday May 25 with a public viewing.  Photo: Artpace, used with permission.

Artpace announces the opening of the Summer 2017 Hudson (Show)Room and Main Space Exhibitions.  These upcoming exhibitions explore the global issues of migration and geopolitical borders. German-born, San Antonio artists Sabine Senft and Doerte Weber drew on their experiences living in divided Germany to examine the current issues of global migration and border control. The official opening is on May 25 from 6p.m. to 8:30p.m. This event is free and open to the public and guests will be able to enjoy complimentary refreshments. Doors open at 6p.m. with a talk featuring both artists at 7p.m.  Both exhibitions will be on display from Thursday May 25 through Sunday August 27, 2017. (Artpace, 2017)

Sabine Senft will showcase her work in the Hudson Showroom. It is produced through a grant from the Artists Foundation of San Antonio. According to the artist, the exhibition, ‘Borderline Reality’ comes from a place of personal reflection. She uses everyday material like candy to evoke the often-overlooked realities of division.

In Main Space, Doerte Weber will unveil ‘Checkpoint,’ a series of large tapestry panels that echo the dimensions and imposing nature of the border wall between the United States and Mexico. The pieces evoke memories of passing between West and East Germany for Weber, who describes the level of scrutiny as like being in a zoo.

Artpace is a contemporary art space located in downtown San Antonio created to support artists with residences, exhibitions and educational programs to foster the creative process. Since it opened in 1995 Artpace has housed more than 200 artists through the International Artist-in-Residence program. Every year the program hosts three residencies that include a Texas-based artist, one national artist and one international artist who are each chosen by a guest curator. After an eight-week residency, the artists have their exhibits on site for two months. The purpose of these residencies is to give artists every opportunity to grow by giving them the resources they need.

Artpace
445 North Main Avenue
San Antonio, TX 78205
(210) 212-4900