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Strange & Unusual: Tim Burton Tribute Exhibition review

Live people ignore the strange and unusual. I myself am strange and unusual. – Lydia in Beetlejuice

SugarMynt Gallery launched their annual holiday season show with an opening night reception on Saturday, November 10. Strange & Unusual – a Tim Burton Tribute Exhibition – features artwork inspired by and in the style of the famous filmmaker, including everything from Beetlejuice to Mars Attacks. Though not specifically themed to Christmas, the exhibition includes a fair amount of seasonal imagery, thanks to numerous works depicting characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas. including our personal favorite, “Jack’s Snowflake” by Jimi Martinez , which is priced at$300.

SugarMynt Strange & Unusual Headless Horseman figure 3
The Headless Horseman stands guard.

Other highlights of Strange & Unusual include a series of textiles with vinyl by Lori Herbst, including Sparky (from Frankenweenie) and the Headless Horseman (from Sleepy Hollow). The latter is latter is a nicely atmospheric piece depicting the title character astride his horse, rearing up in a moment of apparent triumph, dwarfing the jagged background scenery. Price for the latter is $450.

If that is too expensive for your pocketbook, “The Hessian” by Giacomo Ghiazza, is being offered for $75. The small acrylic on canvas depicts the Headless Horseman framed against the full moon, his appearance slightly more suggestive of the Disney animated film than Burton’s life-action rendering.

Instead of original canvases, impecunious purchasers can pick up a Mars Attacks stencil-and-spray-paint for $30. Other affordable items include small ornaments, suitable for your Christmas Tree, by Megan Patatsky, which go for $25 or $45 for a pair. And there are several prints that can be purchased at reasonable prices: Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas ($40), Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) from Batman Returns ($20 unframed, $60 framed); and “It’s Tiki Time, ” featuring Beetlejuice from the animated cartoon (not Michael Keaton’s live incarnation), which is available for $20 unframed and $75 framed.

Not everything on display at Strange & Unusual is inspired by Tim Burton movies. There is also work by artists using similar stylistic elements, such as Michael Murphy, whose book, Everything You Do Is Wrong ($25), features morose figures somewhat akin to the morbid drawings in Burton’s book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy. Murphy has the distinction of offering the exhibition’s largest work, the life-sized “Feather Girl (with actual feathers), priced at $500.

For those who missed SugarMynt’s recent Welcome to Haddonfield 4, the annual exhibition inspired by John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978), there are displays, artwork, and photographs in the gallery’s back room, along with Giacamo Ghiazza pre-production artwork from Hocus-Pocus.

As usual, the layout and presentation at SugarMynt are almost an artwork in themselves. Like a museum, this gallery is worth visiting simply to view the art, regardless of intent to purchase – worth the $10 admission price.

Strange & Unusual: Tim Burton Tribute Exhibition Photo Gallery

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Strange & Unusual: Tim Burton Tribute Exhibition Rating
4

Bottom Line

Interesting collection of work from artists inspired by or working in a style similar to Tim Burton, with options for serious collectors and cost-conscious fans.

Strange & Unusual: Tim Burton Tribute Exhibition runs Tuesdays through Sundays until December 31. Followup events include:

  • Beetlejuice screens at 6pm on November 17.
  • “The Nightmare Continues – Scary XMas Party” on November 30, 7-11pm.
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas screens at 6pm on December 1.

Regular business hours have not been set, but the gallery owner is usually available via appointment; call or text (626) 222 – 7257. Admission is $10.

SugarMynt Gallery is located at 810 Meridian Avenue in South Pasadena 91030. Call or text (626) 222 – 7257 for appointments. The website is: sugarmynt.com.

Steve Biodrowski, Administrator

A graduate of USC film school, Steve Biodrowski has worked as a film critic, journalist, and editor at Movieline, Premiere, Le Cinephage, The Dark Side., Cinefantastique magazine, Fandom.com, and Cinescape Online. He is currently Managing Editor of Cinefantastique Online and owner-operator of Hollywood Gothique.