The Museum of Modern Art in New York is honouring Director Tim Burton with a retrospective exhibit of the artwork connected to some of his most beloved films including Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas. The exhibition will include hundreds of never-before-seen paintings, sculptures and puppets from the artist’s own collection. Celebs including Johnny Depp, Patti Smith, Danny DeVito, Tim Burton and partner Helena Bonham Carter attended the exhibition premier in New York this week (see footage). The exhibition will run from 22 November 2009 until 26 April 2010 and has been described by MONA as an exhibition of Burton’s work “as a director, producer, writer, and concept artist for live-action and animated films, along with his work as a fiction writer, photographer and illustrator.” (more…)

Anyone down for some naked-body viewing this weekend? If yes, then make your way to the Exquisite Bodies exhibition hosted at London’s Wellcome Collection venue on Euston Road. Before you get your horny pants on, there are probably some things that you should know: the term exquisite is a tad misleading – the exhibition is not an artistic reproduction of the Arnies and Marilyns of the last century but a collection of gruesome wax models. Another Body Worlds you may assume? Uh … no. Exquisite Bodies is a reproduction of anatomical models used by 19th-century medical schools for education purposes. During this time, the demand from medical schools for fresh cadavers far outweighed the supply. So, because there just weren’t enough dead people lying around, medical schools used lifelike wax models for dissection purposes. The dodgy dollies were also used to demonstrate bodies ravaged by ’social diseases’ including venereal disease, tuberculosis and alcohol and drug addiction. (more…)

2009 is the year England celebrates the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne. A host of special events will be held in and around London to explore the King’s life and reign. The Tower of London is gearing for the launch of its Henry VIII: Dressed to kill exhibition, which profiles Henry’s role as warrior, sportsman and king. The display features some of the world’s rarest arms and armour, selected from the treasures of the Royal Armouries and international collections. Forget the glamour and romanticism of Jonathan Rhys-Myers in The Tudors – although Henry has been described as “handsome and fit” in his youth, the immense King stood 6 feet 4 and weighed about 200 pounds in his prime. Henry fell of a horse in 1536 – the year he ordered the beheading of his second wife Anne Boleyn (poetic justice is a beautiful thing) – and damaged his leg, which never healed properly. Henry was unable to exercise and packed on the kilos at a rapid rate. The size of his armour grew to the size of his infamous temper. (more…)

It’s been dubbed “The sale of the century”. No, it’s not the Docs shop in Covent Garden. **sigh** Rather, Wacko-Jacko is to auction off more than 2000 items from his Neverland estate before it is dismantled. There is a versatile “orange spandex glove covered with orange Swarovski Loch Rosen crystals and rectangular mirrored beads” – it performs well when used to satisfy rectal itching and is great for fisting (Swarovski is very durable) and can be worn with most outfits on a night out. For those with a Royalty fetish, there is a “full-length red velvet cape with detachable faux ermine collar with gold rope trim, a gold metal cross brooch with faux cabachon gems and satin lining”, a “Katherine Baumann crown-shaped minaudiere with red, green and gold jewels” as well as a “portrait of Michael Jackson dressed as a king, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1995 and housed in an elaborate gold frame” – it has Henry VIII vibe – a skinny, black Henry VIII. (more…)