Jim Henson - WKTV Journal

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

WKTV Managing Editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma with GRAM Director of Art Chris Bruce. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

It was by chance that Chris Bruce was introduced to the world of Jim Henson.

“As a family, we would go to these auctions,” Bruce said. “At one, there was a box of kids toys that we got. At the bottom of the box, there was a VHS (tape) which was the ‘Dark Crystal.’”

It was love at first viewing.

“I just love how he understood the need for kids to face fear,” Bruce said. “That they needed to be able to recognize it and know what it is.”

Fast forward several years and Bruce, who is now working for the Grand Rapids Art Museum, is in New York. A friend tells him about an exhibit of Jim Henson’s work at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI).

Bruce arrived at the MoMI, only to find it closed. But all was not lost as he managed to convince someone to let him in to see “The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited.”

“After seeing it, I knew immediately that the Museum needed to bring this exhibit in,” Brue said, adding that staff had been considering it. “It has everything that we were seeking for an installation. It is entertaining. It is diverse. It is vibrant and it is relatable.

“I saw it as something that would speak to everyone.”

It would take a few more years for the Museum to get the exhibit on its schedule and during that time Bruce was named the GRAM’s director of art and is the curator for the exhibit.

And as Bruce moves a small group through the exhibit, you can quickly tell that the GRAM picked the best person to curate this particular exhibit.

Life’s like a movie

Opened at the beginning of October, the exhibit features a broad range of artifacts related to Henson’s career. This includes more than 20 puppets, character sketches, storyboards, scripts, photographs, film and television clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and iconic costumes. There are also interactive experiences that allow visitors to try their hand at puppeteering on camera and designing a puppet character.

As the group moves through the exhibit, Bruce tells of of the layout and story behind the exhibit.

Visitors travel through a timeline of Henson’s career with the different sections color-coated. Greeted by a 1978 Kermit the Frog, the exhibit starts with Henson’s early life when he was first introduced to television and puppetry. It weaves through his first television show, “Sam and Friends” leading into his years with “Sesame Street.”

“The Muppet Show,” which ran from 1976-1981, is featured prominently with all the episodes being run at the sametime on a screen. Continue to follow the path through the hall to discover such iconic shows “Muppet Babies” and “Fraggle Rock” which leads to Henson’s groundbreaking “Dark Crystal” and “Labyrinth,” which starred David Bowie. The exhibit ends looking at some of the projects Henson was working on before his untimely death in 1990.

“And if you watch the closing monitor, you can even see Jim Henson saying ‘good-bye,” Bruce said.

Joining Kermit are such familiar characters as Grover, Ernie, Bert, and Count von Count from “Sesame Street”; Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, and Scooter from “The Muppets”; and Jen and Kira puppets from “The Dark Crystal.” Also on display are the costumes from “The Labyrinth.”

Making a connection

Grand Rapids Art Museum Director of Art Chris Bruce in front of the Jen and Kira puppets from “The Dark Crystal.” (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

“It has been an incredible opportunity to be the curator while this exhibit is here,” Bruce said.

As for a favorite section, Bruce said he couldn’t pick one. Each has its place and, while all were made for children, there meanings and theme reach out to what is going on today.

“‘Fraggle Rock’ was about race relations and how people need to work together,” Bruce said, adding that making connections was another them that ran through Henson’s work.

“I think the takeaway from all of this is being together,” Bruce said. “We are all different but we are all in this together.”

The “Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited” runs through Jan. 14 at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, 101 Monroe Center NW. Throughout the months of December and January, there are several drop-in and adult workshops centered around puppetry in celebration of the exhibit. For more information, visit artmuseumgr.org.

The author and her daughter with Bert and Ernie at the Henry Ford Museum’s “Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited.” (Photo Courtesy of Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

“I have news and you need to be sitting down” is how I told my daughter, a Muppet fan, that the Grand Rapids Art Museum would be bringing “Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited” to Grand Rapids next fall, with an opening date of Oct. 1, 2022.

This past summer, the two of us made the trek down to Detroit to see the exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum. This was after me stalking the dates for months to determine when I could get there.

Jim Henson (left) and company as Muppets. (Courtesy of Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

“Hey maybe you’ll be able to get your t-shirt.” she said in response.

Yes, my daughter got her love for the Henson creations from me. I grew up on “Sesame Street” with Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, The Count, and of course, the lovable, iconic green frog named Kermit. She and her sister had a tickle-me “Elmo” that they would sit with as they watched the iconic television show. “Sesame Street” is where most of us discovered the Muppets, which is said to be a blend of the word marionette and puppet.

But by the time, Henson and “Sesame Street,” which debuted in 1969, came about, Henson had already made a name for himself, having created Rowlf for the “Jimmy Dean Show” (I never knew Rowlf was that old) and he received an Academy Award-nomination for his nine-minute experimental film “Time Piece.”

TV producer Joan Ganz Cooney and her staff at Children’s Television Workshop were impressed with Henson’s quality and creativity and asked him to be a part of the show. At first, Henson was not that interested because he was afraid of his Muppets being pigeon-holed for only children, but he eventually agreed. “Sesame Street” would help launch Henson into TV stardom.

But it was Miss Piggy, Gonzo the Great, Fozzie Bear, and Kermit along with the rest of “The Muppet Show” cast that would cement Henson, along with partner Frank Oz, into television history.

“The Muppet Show” ran from 1970 -1978 and produced several Muppet movies, the most famous and loved being the 1979 “The Muppet Movie.” I loved it so much, that I purchased the soundtrack on cassette tape and wore it down on the song “I Am Going to Go Back There Someday,” preformed by Gonzo. Today, it remains part of my regular playlist on my iPhone.

Henson would go on to create such cult classics as “The Dark Crystal” and “Labyrinth,” which starred David Bowie. Some also may remember “Fragile Rock” and the animated “Muppet Babies.” By 1990, Henson had sold his company to The Walt Disney Company and completed a few more projects for Disney before his untimely death in 1990.

Organized by the Museum of Moving Image, the upcoming exhibit explores how Henson and his team of designers, writers, technicians, and performers brought to life his many creations. It will feature more than 170 historical objects including iconic puppets, historic costumes, character sketches, storyboards, photographs, annotated scripts, film and television clips, and behind-the-scenes footage. The focus of it all is, of course, center’s on Henson’s ultimate goal, to spark the creativity in all of us.

“The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited” will be open through Jan. 15, 2023. Currently at the GRAM is “An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 1960-2018.” and “An Interwoven Legacy: the Black Ash Basketry of Kelly Church and Cherish Parrish.” For more on current exhibits and activities at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, visit artmuseumgr.org.