"THE ART OF JAMES CAMERON" EXHIBITION
“Growing up in small town Canada, I drew constantly. I was inspired by the comics, science fiction books and movies I consumed voraciously. Always more of an illustrator at heart than a fine artist, I used my drawings and paintings to tell stories. That was perfect training for shifting to the art of cinema in my late twenties." James Cameron
The Museo Nazionale del Cinema is proud to celebrate the genius of James Cameron, one of the greatest contemporary directors, screenwriters, producers and technical innovators of our time. The Art of James Cameron offers visitors a journey through six decades of James Cameron's rich creative expression, bringing together a dazzling and diverse array of rare and never-before-seen works from the acclaimed director’s own private archive. Adapted to the particular vertical shape of the Mole Antonelliana, this unique exhibition showcases the trajectory of ideas that led to such modern classics as The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, and the Avatar movies.
While James Cameron has created and employed advanced filmmaking technologies throughout his career, his process of creative ideation began with pen, pencil, and paints long before he picked up a camera. The Art of James Cameron includes everything from Cameron's earliest sketches through to unrealized projects and his acclaimed later work. Looking at the totality of Cameron’s art, visitors will experience how ideas, themes and even some specific images fueled some of the most iconic movie scenes we now associate with lavish cinematic spectacle. The exhibition also features the filmmaker’s personal commentary on his creative and artistic evolution throughout the years.
Cameron displayed remarkable ability at an early age, filling sketchbooks with illustrations of alien creatures, faraway worlds, and technological wonders. As he grew older, his art became increasingly sophisticated, exploring major themes that would imbue his later work—from the threat of nuclear catastrophe to the dangers inherent in the development of artificial intelligence. Working in the film industry in his twenties, Cameron supported himself by illustrating theatrical posters and concept art for low-budget films before creating the visionary concept pieces that would help greenlight his first feature, The Terminator.
The dazzling universe that’s The Art of James Cameron is divided into six thematic areas: "Dreaming with Your Eyes Wide open", "The Human Machine", "Exploring the Unknown", "Titanic: Traveling back in Time", “Creature: Humans & Aliens” and "Untamed Worlds”.
The more than 300 original exhibit items include drawings, paintings, props, costumes, photographs, and 3D technologies made or adapted by Cameron himself, a noted technical innovator across multiple disciplines. Cameron's inexhaustible search for new techniques to realize his creative vision is also expressed in the exhibition through rich multimedia experiences.
The Art of James Cameron exhibition is an “autobiography through art," as Cameron characterizes his collected work, and a singular experience of Cameron’s rich creative trajectory and process.
Developed by la Cinémathèque française, Paris in association with the Avatar Alliance Foundation
Curators: Kim Butts, Avatar Alliance Foundation, with the participation of Matthieu Orléan, la Cinémathèque française
Adaptation by Kim Butts, Avatar Alliance Foundation and Carlo Chatrian, Museo Nazionale del Cinema