I finally made it to Las Vegas’s Neon Museum last week, and my timing could not have been more perfect for the Halloween season! Through February 15, 2020, the museum is hosting an art installation created by film director Tim Burton. LOST VEGAS recreates the Vegas that was and that never was.
Burton has been visiting the city since his childhood. He’s fond of this “otherwordly place” where everything is “larger than life”, and he’s nostalgic for the hotels and casinos he frequented that have been lost as time and tastes changed. The line between nostalgia and melancholia can be thin, and going by his art, the memories and feelings instilled by Vegas haunt him. He says his “strange, dreamlike memories” of Las Vegas have inspired him artistically throughout his career.
Now he haunts the skeletons of Vegas with an alien invasion of art. The Neon Museum collects and displays iconic-yet-discarded Las Vegas signs in its Neon Boneyard. Burton’s pieces are intermingled and sometimes hidden within the permanent collection. He created the majority of the art specifically for this exhibit, so it’s never been shown anywhere before.
He designed light sculptures, statuary, holographic animations, alternative viewfinders, and two immersive exhibits. The dome is included in the general Boneyard tour, but BRILLIANT, a light projection show with music, is a separate ticket. Familiar characters and references pop up! I spotted the aliens from MARS ATTACKS! (1996) and a betelgeuse sign among the newer creations. Interpreters are frequently stationed amongst the pieces, ready to answer questions or make sure no one climbs into the exhibits for a selfie.
The art veers between the bold and the melancholic. The aliens are frozen in mid attack before they shoot. A spade topped neon sign pushes to the heavens. Pirates lurk around corners. A robot boy perpetually plays a slot machine he loves to catch a glimpse of her face. Burton as a boy wanders a long hallway. The Landmark Hotel perpetually explodes and topples next to a model of itself. Strange bugs float above the neon signs they want to eat. To read any white sign in Burton’s script risks a twinge of sadness.
Even though Vegas is a newer place to visit for me, so I don’t have memories of the place it was, I had a blast taking the regular tour. Anyone liking vintage signs, advertisements, and design will enjoy the permanent exhibits. Judging by the fashion styles of some other attendees, like the woman in the black and white striped skirt with green hair, Burton fans are flocking to the museum and for good reason. Not only is his art fun, but he’s not exhibited anywhere publicly in at least ten years.
Whether you’re thinking of going to the museum or want a virtual trip, I took many photos, and I share highlights in the gallery below. Check them out! I had a hard time paring them down. The Neon Museum truly is a photogenic place full of eye-catching wonders!
