After touring all over the world, 'Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition' has finally arrived in the U.K - the home of the legendary Director. The show, which is open at the Design Museum in Kensington until mid-September, is a chance to get inside the mind of a genius.
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| Exhibition Entrance (image showing shot from 2001: A Space Odyssey) |
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| Entrance to the Design Museum |
Stanley Kubrick's distinctive command of the creative design process of film-making fits very well into this museum about product, industrial, graphic, fashion and architectural design. Kubrick, who was renowned for his meticulous planning and research of his films, was fascinated with all aspects of design, something reflected in the graphic, costume and set designs of his films.
The exhibition reveals the cinematic world that Kubrick grew out of the pages of books, and how these created some of the most unique and influential films of the twentieth century.
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| First section of the exhibition |
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| Editing table used by Kubrick |
Kubrick was born in New York, however settled in England (Hertfordshire no less) between 1961 until he died in 1999, where he also developed and filmed many of his movies. Kubrick was purportedly scared of flying, so the world had to come to him. The exhibition draws attention to many of the locations that were based in Britain - Full Metal Jacket's battle scenes that are set in the city of Hue, Vietnam, were in fact shot at Beckton Gas Works near the Isle of Dogs. Other places in and around London also served as inspiration for his film sets, for example the London's Dorchester Hotel replicated in future form in Space Odyssey. One of the events connected to this exhibition is a
walking tour of central London that explores Kubrick's film-making process, and asks the question: i
f Kubrick were alive today what film would he be making?
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| Distinctive film posters |
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| Some big lenses |
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| Kubrick's notes on the proposals of The Shining's graphic artwork for the film poster |
The structure of the exhibition is simple. You are introduced to Kubrick in the first part, then each section that follows explores one of his most famous films - taking you from
Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Full Metal Jacket, Lolita, Doctor Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut, The Shining, Barry Lyndon and finally, 2001: A Space Odyssey. There is also reference to early works and A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a work that he passed to Steven Spielberg.
The re-configuration of the show at the Design Museum has been co-curated by Deyan Sudjic and designed by Pentagram. It features many original props, costumes, set re-creations, posters and large screens showing segments from his films.
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| Set from 2001: A Space Odyssey |
Coming to this exhibition does not feel like your classic museum trip. The visitor is not overloaded with text and there is lots of AV, including clips from his films and some documentary footage. The exhibition is proving very popular in reviews, and it is not difficult to see why. It closes on 15th September, it is a paid exhibition but concessions are available.
The exhibition reveals the fastidious film-making process of Kubrick and the involvement he had in all aspects of film design, which while revealing his genius, quite frankly also demonstrated how frustrating it could be to work with him (something he was also renowned for). However, it cannot be denied that the finished product - the visual quality and strange foresight of Kubrick's films - made it all worthwhile.
Design Museum website:
