When a Tim Burton–themed art exhibition debuted at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas last October, fans of the dark fantasy filmmaker were nothing short of delighted. So much so, in fact, that the site-specific show, titled Lost Vegas: Tim Burton @ The Neon Museum, was extended from February 15 through April 12, 2020, due to popular demand.
However, like many other major museums and institutions across the United States and the world, the Neon Museum is temporarily shuttered amid the coronavirus outbreak (through April 30, currently). Because of this, the landmark Las Vegas museum is making its specially curated display—which features large-scale artworks by the American auteur, who is famed for his Gothic-style creations—virtually available to at-home audiences.
A virtual tour of Lost Vegas: Tim Burton @ The Neon Museum, led by Neon Museum education specialist Mitch Cohen, will be broadcast on the Neon Museum’s Facebook Live on Friday, April 10, at 1 p.m. (PST). After the rare Lost Vegas: Tim Burton @ The Neon Museum exhibit “finishes its run” online, the exhibit’s first-ever livestream broadcast will remain on the Neon Museum’s Facebook (in the videos section) for anyone to see.
The rare exhibit, titled “Lost Vegas: Tim Burton @ The Neon Museum,” will broadcast its first-ever Facebook Live tour amid closures due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Photo by Denise Truscello / Neon Museum
Lost Vegas: a landmark Tim Burton exhibit
In addition to being the first U.S. showcase of original artworks by Burton in nearly a decade, the Las Vegas exhibition also marks the first time some of these pieces have been showcased anywhere, because Burton created various sculptures and installations specifically for the Las Vegas exhibition. According to the Neon Museum’s website, the exhibit “reflect[s] on Burton’s creative legacy,” with large-scale artworks (both new and previously displayed) featured throughout the museum’s indoor and outdoor spaces. For Lost Vegas: Tim Burton @ The Neon Museum, Burton’s artworks were positioned alongside the museum’s antique sign collection in the Neon Boneyard, an open-air portion of the 2.62-acre property where old neon signs are preserved and displayed. (Burton featured the museum’s Boneyard during a memorable sequence in his 1996 comedy Mars Attacks.)
Burton created various large-scale sculptures and installations specifically for the Las Vegas exhibition.
Photo by Denise Truscello / Neon Museum
In addition to the main show, a separate after-dark spectacle titled Tim Burton Brilliant further showcases the artist’s unique affection for Las Vegas, using light projections, music, and archival footage to illuminate unrestored signs from the museum’s collection.
Other exhibitions featuring art by Burton—whose long-lasting contributions to film include cult classics such as Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)—have appeared in Hong Kong, Melbourne, Los Angeles, Paris, Prague, Tokyo, São Paulo, and Mexico City in recent years. The last major Burton-themed exhibition in the United States was held at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2009 (through 2010). It attracted approximately 800,000 visitors.
Burton’s artworks are on view in the museum’s Neon Boneyard, an open-air portion of the 2.62-acre property where old neon signs are preserved and displayed.
Photo by Denise Truscello / Neon Museum
This article originally appeared online on July 15, 2019; it was updated on April 9, 2020, to include current information.
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