Round up the usual suspects. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” will turn 30, and the delectably ghoulish fairy tale will enter its third decade with an engaging new display of artifacts.
The relics of this paragon of stop-motion animation will be exhibited at San Antonio’s McNay Art Museum from Aug. 17 to Jan. 14, 2024.
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The exhibition, dubbed “Dreamland,” will present maquettes, small-scale working models, used to make the 1993 film. Among the figures to be displayed include Oogie Boogie, Bone Crusher and Jack Skellington. A full set model, “Jack Skellington and his dog, Zero, in Jack’s Tower,” will also be on view.
A nod to filmmaker Tim Burton’s surrealist sensibility, “Dreamland” will also display a “hall of peculiar portraits” with quirky subjects by artists José Clemente Orozco Farías, Pablo Picasso, Julie Heffernan, Eugene Berman, Marilyn Lanfear, Willem de Kooning, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Julie Speed, among others; and large-scale paintings and photographs by artists Paul Maxwell, Claudia Rogge, Robin Utterback and Sandy Skoglund.
“The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts makes the McNay unique among art museums across the country,” said Matthew McLendon, director of the McNay, in a statement. “This monumental anniversary of the treasured film ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ is the perfect opportunity not only to share Burton’s fascinating set and character models but also illuminate equally fascinating McNay artworks available to San Antonians throughout the year.”