L: Betelgeuse sign; R: Lost Vegas Sign Tower
(Photo courtesy of Denise Truscello/The Neon Museum)
THE NEON MUSEUM ANNOUNCES RECORD-BREAKING ATTENDANCE DURING LOST VEGAS: TIM BURTON @ THE NEON MUSEUM
Four Burton Signs to Remain on View in Neon Boneyard
The Neon Museum announces it enjoyed record-breaking visitation during Lost Vegas: Tim Burton @ The Neon Museum, the extraordinary art exhibition created by iconic artist, director, author and producer Tim Burton. The exhibition welcomed 191,000 visitors during its six-month run, which began on Oct. 15, 2019 and officially ended on April 12, 2020. The same six-month period the year prior saw 100,000 guests visit the museum.
“What an honor when Mr. Burton approached us expressing his desire to create a site-specific exhibition for The Neon Museum,” said Rob McCoy. “Las Vegas’ rich history inspired much of his artwork for this show, which earned admiration from visitors from around the world. His imagination simply knows no equal.”
Four of the Burton’s outstanding works will remain on view when the museum reopens to the public once authorities lift the COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions. The Neon Museum will also retain all sketches made for the artwork in the exhibition in its archives.
Artworks remaining on view are:
- Guns “N” Booze
This installation is a recollection of the “lost” Vegas freewheeling shops that once touted firearms and liquor with neon enticements. - Neon Wall Grid
The neon seahorses with the boy in the center represent Tim Burton’s childhood memories of the pool at the Dunes Hotel, which featured a fountain with three seahorse sculptures. Both the Spiral-Eyed Girl “Area 51 Motel” neon (at left) and the alien showgirl (at right) reference Southern Nevada’s association with extraterrestrials in popular culture. - Lost Vegas Sign Tower
An homage to the Dunes Hotel pylon sign, this tower was aged and weathered purposefully to resemble a fading edifice beyond its prime. It symbolizes the city’s lost past that is both endearingly highlighted by this exhibition and carefully preserved by the Museum’s mission. - Betelgeuse sign
In Tim Burton’s 1988 film “Beetlejuice,” the main characters meet at a flashing Betelgeuse sign. This installation was created exclusively for this exhibition and designed to be a 30-year-old relic found amongst the other disused signs in the Neon Boneyard.
In the meantime, The Neon Museum offers virtual visits via its free web-based app, which enables users to learn about select signs housed in the Boneyard outdoor exhibition space. Anyone with a computer or smartphone data plan can access the app via the website at www.neonmuseum.app and use the password NEON to access it. It also hosts video content on its Facebook page and YouTube channel.
For more information about The Neon Museum, visit www.neonmuseum.org and follow its Twitter and Instagram pages.
ABOUT THE NEON MUSEUM
Founded in 1996, the Neon Museum is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, studying and exhibiting iconic Las Vegas signs for educational, historic, arts and cultural enrichment. It has been named “Best Museum” by Las Vegas Weekly, one of “Sin City’s Best Retro Sites” by MSN, “No. 1 Las Vegas Museum Sure to Entertain and Educate” by USA Today’s 10best.com, “One of the Top 10 Coolest Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do” by Forbes.com, one of the “Top 10 Historic Spots in Las Vegas” by Vegas.com; one of “15 Most Fascinating Museums in the U.S.” by VacationIdea.com; and earns a consistent 4.5 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor. On its 2.27-acre campus, the Neon Museum houses an outdoor exhibition space known as the Neon Boneyard (“boneyard” is traditionally the name for an area where items no longer in use are stored); the North Gallery, home to the nighttime augmented-reality, audiovisual spectacle, “Brilliant!”; the Boulevard Gallery outdoor exhibit and event space; and its visitors’ center, housed inside the former La Concha Motel lobby. The museum collection also includes nine restored signs installed as public art throughout downtown Las Vegas. Public education, outreach, research, archival preservation and a grant-funded neon sign survey represent a selection of the museum’s ongoing projects. Both the Neon Boneyard and the La Concha Visitors’ Center are located at 770 Las Vegas Blvd. North in Las Vegas. Follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.