Bowie roadshow hits its final destination
In this file photo taken on February 5, 2001 Model Iman and her husband singer David Bowie arrive at the New York premiere of "Hannibal" at the Ziegfeld Theater.
A globe-trotting, crowd-packing exhibition exploring the many sides of David Bowie opens last weekend in its final venue of New York, also the last home of the late rock legend.
“David Bowie is” — the show’s title keeps the answer ambiguous — presents Bowie not only as a rock pioneer but as a skilled actor, fashion icon, LGBT hero, inquisitive visual artist and even as a mime.
The exhibition, which opened five years ago at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, opened on March 2 at the Brooklyn Museum where it will close on July 15.
The Brooklyn Museum said it added about 100 objects to the exhibition to reflect Bowie’s time in the United States.
They include a clip from his praised Broadway performance in “The Elephant Man,” collaborative drawings with the experimental artist Laurie Anderson and a section on his 1970s soul phase that took him to Philadelphia.
Visitors are guided by interactive headphones that play Bowie’s songs from his 1969 breakthrough “Space Oddity” to his last album “Blackstar.”
Highlights include costumes designed for Bowie by Kansai Yamamoto and Freddie Burretti, including the spacey quilted suit that Bowie wore on his landmark 1972 performance on the BBC.
The Brooklyn Museum is dropping its pay-as-you-wish admission for “David Bowie is,” requiring timed tickets that start at US$20.
Special tickets go up to US$2,500 for a private, guided tour.
