I was so glad to be in London before the V and A ‘Bowie is’ exhibition closed on the 11th August. I have always loved David Bowie. I saw him for the first time when I was about 11 on the South African version of MTV, which was called Pop Shop. They played his 1973 Top of the Pops performance of Starman.
I fell in love with him instantly. I would have had a giant crush on him whether he was a man or a woman. My father almost choked on his brandy when he saw this apparition appear on our TV. He did the ’Is that a girl or a boy? That’s not music, it’s just noise! That outfit is indecent!’ as Bowie strutted around in heavy makeup and dyed red hair, wearing a glittery outfit that was so tight it displayed his package to the world. When he almost canoodled (not once but TWICE) with the long-haired lamé-clad guitarist, Mick Ronson, the TV was turned off immediately and I was probably sent to confession the next day.
Soon I had his posters all over my walls. I had a Pineapple Cut to emulate his hair (not a good look on curly hair I am afraid. I looked horrendous!) and bought his records. After he appeared on TV in a dress by Mr Fish, I was banned from watching him but still allowed to listen to him on the radio and on my record player.
So I was very keen to see this exhibition and I was not disappointed. I actually went twice because there was a lot I missed the first time due to the crowds. I would recommend going two and a half to three hours before closing because they stop letting people enter and the crowds will thin out around the first displays so you can go back and see what was over-crowded when you came in. A good night is Friday night when they have late closing because the crowds disperse by then. The online tickets are all sold out and they are often sold out at the museum but if you wait until about 2pm there are often more released for the late afternoon or early evening. Just leave yourself enough time to see everything.
On display are lyrics, designs, costumes and diary entries – all in original. There are also banks of monitors playing videos, film clips which play in a tiny theatre, and a huge video display just before the exit. Sennheiser (which are my favourite earphones) did the sound and it is epic. You wear headphones and as you pass displays you hear music or discussion of what you are passing. Depending on which square you are standing on in certain parts, different music and videos play for you. All the mono and stereo clips have been redone in full surround sound.
For me the best part was the four-storey high screens in the penultimate room which played different videos on each huge screen and intermittently displayed the costumes behind the screen.
When you are finished with the exhibition you end up in the shop, where they have Bowie badges, t-shirts, biographies, albums and DVDs, bags, calendars, posters, magnets. These can also be ordered from anywhere in the world in the V and A web shop.
There is also a David Bowie café and lots of lectures, workshops and events related to this exhibition.
On 13 August there will be a cinema event of this exhibition. Read more about it here
I learned a lot, such as:
- Bowie was the first artist to have a web presence with an interactive website
- He has sold more than 140 million albums
- He has played to 80 000 fans in New Zealand – the largest audience per capita anywhere
- He established Bowie bonds - securities collateralized by future earnings of singer David Bowie’s song catalog. Issued in 1997, Bowie Bonds established a new category of securitized debt in which entertainers sold future royalties to investors
- He plays electric and acoustic guitars; saxophone; keyboards including piano and synthesizers; harmonica, xylophone, drums, percussion, cello and viola
- He has designed stage sets, album covers (most notably Diamond Dogs) and has complete control of projects
- Apart from acting in quite a few films, he was also a hit in Elephant Man on Broadway. He played the Elephant Man, John Merrick and did not use makeup or prosthetics – just speech and bodily movements – to portray the character. He was actually extremely good. Clips are shown in the exhibition
- He is trained in mime and cabaret. Clips are shown in the exhibition
- He was one of the first people to use McQueen as a designer
- He turned down a knighthood
Click on the images below to see bigger pictures and cycle through them.
These are some of the videos they show:
and one of the exhibition
