I finally got a chance to head up to Brooklyn to catch the David Bowie is exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. It’s been touring around the world for the past five years and the Brooklyn Museum is the last stop. There are over 400 items in the exhibit and most of them are from Bowie’s Archive. There are costumes, handwritten lyrics, photographs, drawings, etc., plus lots of wonderful video clips of performance footage. The audio tour automatically plays Bowie’s music and voice as you walk through the exhibition, making you feel as if he’s giving you a personal tour of the collection. You don’t need to be a Bowie super fan to enjoy this exhibit. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys his music or enjoys studying music in a cultural context.
A few of my favorites from the exhibition were:
The Costumes – Bowie had a keen sense of style and his wardrobe gave life to the characters he created. He could easily go from one style to the next; wearing especially artful jumpsuits for Aladdin Sane to tailored, sharp suits in the 80’s. He worked with many notable fashion designers to constantly reinvent himself. The exhibition features many of his famous costumes plus video clips of him performing in the costumes which I particularly liked.
Insights on his Creative Process – Having studied art, Bowie was very involved in developing the concepts and artwork for many of his album covers, concert props and imagery, and he would also sketch out images to correspond with his song lyrics. The exhibition features many of his small sketch books and drawings which allowed you to see how his ideas developed.
Stage & Screen Highlights – I also enjoyed the small section that highlighted Bowie’s acting career. In addition to his popular roles in Labyrinth and The Man Who Fell to Earth, he performed mime, starred in the Elephant Man on Broadway and entertained in countless music videos. The exhibition features a Broadway playbill, a handwritten letter to Bowie from Jim Henson, clips of Bowie from various portrayals, and more.
David Bowie is runs through July 15th. If you plan on going, give yourself plenty of time to navigate the exhibition. It took me about 3 hours but I read almost everything. I recommend going during the week if possible as it was very crowded on Sunday when I was there. Photos were not permitted so I don’t have any from inside the exhibit to post except for a couple from inside/outside of the gift shop. You’ll have to go see all of Bowie’s fantastic collectibles in person!
For more information on the exhibition, visit https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/davidbowieis.