Exhibition at the Grand Rapids Art Museum celebrates the creative vision of Jim Henson
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, November 23, 2024


Exhibition at the Grand Rapids Art Museum celebrates the creative vision of Jim Henson
Ernie and Bert from Sesame Street. Photo: Nat Seymour.



GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.- The Grand Rapids Art Museum is presenting The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited, with presenting support from PNC Bank. Organized by the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), the traveling exhibition will remain on view through January 14, 2023. The traveling exhibition is a version of MoMI’s ongoing The Jim Henson Exhibition, which is on view at its home in New York City. 

The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited is a dynamic new visitor experience exploring Jim Henson’s groundbreaking work for film and television and his transformative impact on popular culture. This comprehensive exhibition reveals how Henson and his team of builders, performers, and writers brought to life the enduringly popular worlds of The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and much more. It also includes material from Henson’s experimental film projects and his early work, presenting him as a restlessly creative performer, filmmaker, and technical innovator. 

“This expansive retrospective exhibition will be fun and fascinating across all generations,” commented GRAM Director Dana Friis-Hansen. ​“Imagination Unlimited celebrates the breadth of Henson’s creativity through original artifacts — including puppetry, animation, acting, inventing, and filmmaking — and reunites us with his much-beloved cast of characters, including Kermit, Bert and Ernie, Miss Piggy, and the Cookie Monster.” 

The exhibition features a broad range of artifacts related to Henson’s unparalleled career, including more than 20 puppets, character sketches, storyboards, scripts, photographs, film and television clips, behind-the-scenes footage, iconic costumes, and interactive experiences that allow visitors to try their hand at puppeteering on camera and designing a puppet character. 




Imagination Unlimited takes visitors on a journey through Jim Henson’s creative life, from the moment he borrowed two library books on puppeteering as a high school student in the 1950s to his first successful television show Sam and Friends, and on through the characters and stories that left an indelible mark on popular culture,” added GRAM Associate Curator Jennifer Wcisel. ​“The show contains an impressive collection of storyboards, concept sketches, and behind-the-scenes footage that offers a look at Henson’s deep imagination and technical innovation in film and television.” 

Imagination Unlimited begins with a brief look at Henson’s early life through images of Henson as a young man and reproductions of some of his early drawings and sketches, and then follows his steady rise and immense contributions to the art and industry of the moving image. Highlights include a Kermit the Frog puppet from 1978; handwritten scripts from Henson’s first television series, Sam and Friends (1955 – 1961); a clip from his Academy Award – nominated experimental film Time Piece (1965); Jen and Kira puppets from The Dark Crystal (1982); familiar Sesame Street puppets including Grover, Ernie, Bert, and Count von Count; plus costumes from Labyrinth (1986).

The exhibition prominently features an exploration of The Muppet Show (1976 – 1981) from a concept Henson first developed in the early 1960s to an internationally beloved series. This section features iconic puppets that helped define this world-wide brand, including Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, and Scooter, as well as material from the Muppets’ transition to the big screen, with set models and storyboards illustrating how sets were designed to accommodate puppets and performers. 

The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited is a traveling exhibition organized by Museum of the Moving Image (Astoria, New York) in cooperation with The Jim Henson Company, The Muppets Studio, and Sesame Workshop. The exhibition features puppets and other objects donated to the Museum by the family of Jim Henson, plus works on loan from The Jim Henson Company archives as well as from private lenders. 

Presenting support for the exhibition is generously provided by PNC Bank. Additional funding is provided by Wege Foundation, The Meijer Foundation, and GRAM Exhibition Society. 










Today's News

December 23, 2022

An ancient 'horizon calendar' comes into view over Mexico City

New Museum presents first American museum survey of Theaster Gates

Museum für Moderne Kunst opens a comprehensive exhibition of works by Rosemarie Trockel

Gertrude Abercrombie, Edward Hopper, Bernard Buffet highlight Hindman's December Fine Art Auctions

African American Museum delays opening

Exhibition at White Cube Mason's Yard presents works by David Altmejd

Bertoia's wraps stellar year with $2.7M November auction of toys and Christmas antiques from prestigious collections

"Marc Dennis: Once upon a Time" now on view at GAVLAK in solo exhibition

Christmas at Dollywood, with Streetmosphere and a Chicken Lady

Priska Pasquer announces the opening of Priska Pasqquer Paris

Exhibition at Galloire brings together five world-renowned artists

AstaGuru presents extraordinary landmark creations in its 'Historic Masterpieces' Modern Indian Art Auction

A horde of monkeys descend on the Carlone Hall at the Upper Belvedere

The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair returning to Mayfair, London - first time since pandemic in 2020

Fondazione Donnaregina per le arti contemporanee presents exhibition by Jimmie Durham

Coffee culture: Starbucks brings Betsy Silverman's recycled magazine art to Harvard Square

Tony Vaccaro centennial exhibition on view at Monroe Gallery of Photography

'Thatcher's Children' by Craig Easton to be published February 2022

Marianne Boesky Gallery now representing Martyn Cross

Exhibition at the Grand Rapids Art Museum celebrates the creative vision of Jim Henson

Elayne Jones, pioneering percussionist, is dead at 94

On TikTok, an organist finds an audience, and herself

Onstage, it's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas again

Digital artwork virtually repdroduces the 5000-kilometer transnational migratory journey of a single monarch butterfly

Steps for writing an abstract




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful