He had me at Beetlejuice. It was 1988 when I was first introduced to the genius that is Tim Burton. I was working at the BBC at the time, thirteen years before I joined Syfy. I recall feeling entirely blown away by the sheer anarchic imagination and black humor of the film. And being English and a fan of dark, surreal comedy which is, of course, part and parcel to the British psyche, there was a natural appeal to Tim Burton's twisted perspective on the world.
Like many Burton fans, I have passionately followed and admired his incredible on-screen work, from Edward Scissorhands and Batman Returns to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. So I was thrilled when Syfy learned of the opportunity to support Tim Burton in an extraordinary exhibition at MoMA. And I thought what an eyebrow raising proposition for Syfy, famously home to Battlestar Galactica, to be connected to one of the most distinguished art institutions in the world - New York's Museum of Modern Art.
But what is Syfy doing at MoMA? Well, while some may still take issue with the name spelling change that occurred earlier this year, taking the Sci Fi Channel to Syfy, it was an intentional shift to further build a brand that celebrates imagination and reflects the full range and diversity of our genre. We challenge our viewers to let their minds break free of convention and venture without limit. And perhaps no one better inspires and embodies the magic of limitless imagination than the brilliant artist, Tim Burton.
That is why Syfy, for the first time ever, has become a patron of the arts and is thrilled to sponsor the Tim Burton retrospective that just opened at MoMA. The exhibit embodies Burton's 27 years of artistic work bringing together more than 700 examples of photographs, drawings, paintings, sketchbooks, concept art and a selection of his amateur films.
Burton's cerebral yet childlike genius not only inspires us at Syfy but truly epitomizes a type of creativity that is often not encouraged or is incompatible in the chaos of everyday life. Burton apparently has drawn much of his inspiration from growing up in Burbank, California, and feeling alien in his own southern Californian upbringing. He says that he tapped into this angst and unease as a source of inspiration for much of his art. And clearly, we have all benefited from this tension.
Interestingly, Time magazine's cover story this week on the dangers of modern day, over- parenting, sites studies that show that children who have unstructured time to engage their imagination and flex their creative muscles are more flexible, resilient and sociable and ultimately better prepared for their adult lives. Perhaps Burton's parents didn't have him on an overstuffed schedule with soccer, karate, chess, violin and Mandarin lessons and he was left to his own devices to tap into a rich imagination. And it is this imagination which is a gift to us all and for which we are all enormously grateful.
