The Art of Tim Burton: Exploring Dark Fantasy

Characterised by dark, uncanny imagery and an off-beat persona, Tim Burton has cultivated a reputation as an eccentric and irreverent filmmaker. Spanning both live-action and animation, his work applies a macabre twist to everything from superhero and sci-fi films to biographical dramas and musicals. However, it is through stop-motion animation that Burton’s grotesque monsters and misfits truly come to life, allowing him to explore themes of bodily difference, disfigurement, and disassembly.

In this talk, Dr Christopher Holliday, a Senior Lecturer in Liberal Arts and Visual Cultures Education at King’s College London, examines how Burton’s fascination with unstable, conflicted bodies is enhanced by stop-motion’s inherent strangeness. We will trace his artistic beginnings at the California Institute of the Arts, his early work at Disney, and his departure to develop a gothic-inspired counter-style. By exploring Corpse Bride (2005) and Frankenweenie (2012), this talk reveals how Burton’s haunting aesthetic has shaped his legacy as a Hollywood outsider. By reflecting on Burton’s contribution to the development of animation as an art form over the last forty years, Dr Chris Holliday reveals how his haunting visual style has come to symbolise the career of a filmmaker whose identity has remained increasingly difficult to place.

**Doors open at 7pm, talk starts at 7.30pm - come down early to grab a good seat!**

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Presented by Seed Talks

This is an 14+ event