Slideshow: a sneak peek of the blockbuster David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
Slideshow: a sneak peek of the blockbuster David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
David Bowie Is, which opens today at the AGO, celebrates Bowie’s evolving identity in fittingly over-the-top fashion. The exhibition spans two floors of the museum and is correspondingly massive in scope, comprising over 300 objects (all pulled from the tens of thousands of items in the British pop artist’s personal archive). It’s a pleasingly chaotic mix: school-age photos, Ziggy Stardust suits, beloved guitars and over-the-top set designs, plus concert footage and interview clips. As during the exhibit’s record-smashing run at London’s Victoria and Albert museum, every visitor gets a pair of headphones that plays songs and interview excerpts as you move though the exhibition. The result is an assemblage of film, art, costume, object and sound that encapsulates Bowie’s gift for reinvention. Here, a look at some of the highlights.
See the highlights »
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- The exhibition includes many of Bowie’s handwritten lyrics, including those for “Fame,” “Heroes” and “Blackout” (shown here). He sometimes cut up his lyrics to inspire new ideas during recording sessions
- (Image: Victoria and Albert Museum)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- Also on display: a scrawled note from Alexander McQueen apologizing for the delay in submitting designs for a Union Jack Coat for Bowie’s 1997 tour. Want the look? The AGO gift shop is selling a blazer inspired by the McQueen jacket for $595
- (Image: Frank W Ockenfels)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- A self-portrait forms part of a section devoted to Bowie’s years living in Berlin, where he was inspired by Dadaism, German Expressionism and cabaret
- (Image: Victoria and Albert Museum)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- Bowie’s long time collaborator Natasha Korniloff created this Pierrot costume, which appears on the cover for<em> Scary Monsters ... (and Super Creeps)</em>
- (Image: Brian Duffy)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- A screening room features excerpts from the 1976 feature film <em>The Man Who Fell to Earth, </em> which starred Bowie as an extraterrestrial. The cover artwork of Bowie’s next two albums both incorporated stills from movie
- (Image: Victoria and Albert Museum)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- According to curator Geoffrey Marsh, many of the people who saw the exhibition in London felt that they were actually seeing two exhibits: one about Bowie, and one about their own coming of age
- (Image: Masayoshi Sukita)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- Bowie’s alter-ego Aladdin Sane, pictured here in photographer Brian Duffy’s image for the cover of the <em>Aladdin Sane</em> album. The exhibition includes Duffy’s contact sheet from the cover shoot
- (Image: Brian Duffy)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- For the <em>Aladdin Sane</em> tour, Bowie took inspiration from Japanese theatre and fashion. Kansai Yamamoto created his costumes, including this knitted catsuit. All the mannequins for the exhibition had to be custom-made to accommodate Bowie’s 26.5-inch waist
- (Image: Victoria and Albert Museum)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- Another costume by Kansai Yamamoto for the <em>Aladdin Sane</em> tour. According to Bowie, the costumes were “everything I wanted...outrageous, provocative and unbelievably hot to wear under the lights’
- (Image: Masayoshi Sukita)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- This ice blue suit was for a promotional film for “Life on Mars?” Bowie wore it with matching turquoise eyeshadow
- (Image: Victoria and Albert Museum)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- Bowie wore this quilted suit during his <em>Ziggy Stardust</em> tour. It was inspired by the white jumpsuits worn by teenage hoodlums in <em>A Clockwork Orange </em>
- (Image: Victoria and Albert Museum)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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- Before leaving school at the age of 16, Bowie was already playing saxophone and singing for the band The Kon-rads
- (Image: Victoria and Albert Museum)
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
- David Bowie exhibition at the AGO
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Sept. 25–Nov. 27. $30. Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W., ago.net
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/culture/ago-david-bowie-is-exhibition/&title=Slideshow: a sneak peek of the blockbuster David Bowie exhibition at the AGO&picture=https://cdn.torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/david-bowie-ago-exhibition-intro-624x624.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_237464" align="aligncenter" width="656"] (Image: courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario)[/caption]
David Bowie Is, which opens today at the AGO, celebrates Bowie’s evolving identity in fittingly over-the-top fashion. The exhibition spans two floors of the museum and is correspondingly massive in scope, comprising over 300 objects (all pulled from the tens of thousands of items in the British pop artist’s personal archive). It’s a pleasingly chaotic mix: school-age photos, Ziggy Stardust suits, beloved guitars and over-the-top set designs, plus concert footage and interview clips. As during the exhibit’s record-smashing run at London’s Victoria and Albert museum, every visitor gets a pair of headphones that plays songs and interview excerpts as you move though the exhibition. The result is an assemblage of film, art, costume, object and sound that encapsulates Bowie’s gift for reinvention. Here, a look at some of the highlights.
See the highlights »
[gallery exclude="237464" columns="6"]
Sept. 25–Nov. 27. $30. Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W., ago.net){kind=link}