January 18, 2020
Part of this self discovery journey I’m embarking on is getting used to solitude. Not necessarily being totally alone at any given time (although that is taking some getting used to,) but I’m talking more about doing things by myself.
Since last January, I’ve been doing things by myself with increasing frequency. I’ve eaten alone, I’ve gone to the movies alone, I’ve even wandered Old Town Albuquerque alone. Saturday was a big departure for me. I went to the Albuquerque Museum for The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited.
I was raised watching Sesame Street, The Muppet Show (and The Muppet Movie) and Fraggle Rock. I watched Labyrinth tirelessly, and even saw it last week at Flix Brewhouse for David Bowie’s birthday. To say this was an important exhibit for me to see would be an understatement.
I arrived at Albuquerque Museum at 11:30 and had a small lunch at Slate at the Museum, a small cafe inside the museum. I ordered an Albuquerque Turkey sandwich and an IBC Cream Soda. The sandwich was delicious but they served it with those skinny shoestring french fries I hate so much.
Once my plate was empty, I entered the exhibit hall where I was greeted by none other than Kermit the Frog.
The exhibit started by talking about Jim Henson’s creatively formative years, drawing cartoons for his school newspaper and so forth. His early puppeteering efforts began on a Saturday morning kids’ show called The Junior Morning Show. Kermit made his debut in Henson’s follow up to the Junior Morning Show when he created Sam and Friends, a five minute puppet show for a local television station.
The exhibit then follows Henson’s career through advertising, the creation of the Muppets, Fraggle Rock, his foray into film and creating the major studio movies Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.
There was a vast amount of information available, as well as plenty of displays of Muppets, props, costumes, videos, and much more.
Knowing that I was looking at the characters that had brought me so much joy over the years was overpowering to say the least. I became emotional many times while I passed the foam and felt puppets that Mr. Henson created to bring joy around the world.
Jim Henson died May 16, 1990. You are missed.
More pictures of my visit to the exhibit can be found here.