Mental Floss

Take a Sneak Peek at the Brooklyn Museum's Upcoming David Bowie Exhibition

By Kirstin Fawcett

Photograph by John Robert Rowlands. © John Robert Rowlands
Photograph by John Robert Rowlands. © John Robert Rowlands / Photograph by John Robert Rowlands. © John Robert Rowlands
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David Bowie was born in London, and spent his final years in New York. Which makes it fitting that an acclaimed traveling retrospective of the rocker’s career will end at the Brooklyn Museum in 2018, five years after it first kicked off at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Following a whirlwind global tour, “David Bowie is” will debut at the Brooklyn Museum on March 2, 2018, and run until July 15, 2018. Curated by the V&A, it features around 400 objects from the singer’s archives, including stage costumes, handwritten lyrics, photographs, set designs, and Bowie’s very own instruments.

Together, these items trace Bowie’s evolution as a performer, and provide new insights into “the creative process of an artist whose sustained reinventions, innovative collaborations, and bold characterizations revolutionized the way we see music, inspiring people to shape their own identities while challenging social traditions,” according to the Brooklyn Museum.

“David Bowie is” has received nearly 2 million visitors since it left the V&A in 2013. Due to its overwhelming popularity, the show is a timed ticketed exhibition, with priority access reserved for Brooklyn Museum members and certain ticket holders.

Tickets are on sale now, but you can take a sneak peek at some artifacts from "David Bowie is" below.

Photograph from the album cover shoot for Aladdin Sane, 1973
Photograph from the album cover shoot for Aladdin Sane, 1973 / Photograph by Brian Duffy. Photo Duffy © Duffy Archive & The David Bowie Archive
Striped bodysuit for the Aladdin Sane tour, 1973. Design by Kansai Yamamoto
Striped bodysuit for the Aladdin Sane tour, 1973. Design by Kansai Yamamoto / Photograph by Masayoshi Sukita © Sukita/The David Bowie Archive
Cut up lyrics for "Blackout" from Heroes, 1977
Cut up lyrics for "Blackout" from Heroes, 1977 / Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive. Image © Victoria and Albert Museum
Original lyrics for “Ziggy Stardust,” by David Bowie, 1972
Original lyrics for “Ziggy Stardust,” by David Bowie, 1972 / Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive. Image © Victoria and Albert Museum
David Bowie with William Burroughs, February 1974. Photograph by Terry O'Neill with color by David Bowie.
David Bowie with William Burroughs, February 1974. Photograph by Terry O'Neill with color by David Bowie. / Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive. Image © Victoria and Albert Museum
Original photography for the Earthling album cover, 1997
Original photography for the Earthling album cover, 1997 / Photograph by Frank W Ockenfels 3. © Frank W Ockenfels 3
Print after a self-portrait by David Bowie, 1978
Print after a self-portrait by David Bowie, 1978 / Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive. Image © Victoria and Albert Museum
Acoustic guitar from the Space Oddity era, 1969
Acoustic guitar from the Space Oddity era, 1969 / Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive. Image © Victoria and Albert Museum
Asymmetric knitted bodysuit, 1973. Designed by Kansai Yamamoto for the Aladdin Sane tour.
Asymmetric knitted bodysuit, 1973. Designed by Kansai Yamamoto for the Aladdin Sane tour. / Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive. Image © Victoria and Albert Museum
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