What do Godzilla and the Beatles have in common? Both were big in Japan, but — more importantly, for the matter at hand — both have also inspired collectors in North Texas.
More than 215 items of Fab Four memorabilia (including a hand-painted piano illustrating the life and times of the Beatles) and a collection of monster toys are among the 15 finalists in the Perot Museum’s contest for its first “self-curated exhibition,” Eye of the Collector. The exhibition will include collections of PEZ dispensers, Dallas Cowboys memorabilia, ancient artifacts, and more. After issuing a call for local collectors, the Perot is now asking the public to vote for a “People’s Choice” collection to appear in the show.
The finalists, who were selected by a panel of local artists and curators, have been sorted into three categories: “Best Youth Collection,” “Most Unique Collection,” and “Visually Stunning Collection.” The overall winner, and one representative from each category, will go on display in the museum.
Go to here to vote and read brief, occasionally fascinating descriptions of the collections written by their collectors — or the collector’s parents, in the case of 7-year-old Ariel Lord, whose 80 rubber ducks will “quack you up.” We enjoyed D. Blair Spitzberg, the retired nuclear physicist, on his collection of more than 150 toy ray guns (“science fiction precursors” to his career), and Burt Finger on his 100-plus shoeshine boxes, a reminder about “entrepreneurship and the American Dream.”
We’re not here to tell you how to vote, but we do feel the need to marvel at Bryce Gardner, 17, and his collection of more than 1,000 antique bottles. Let’s also hear it for Paula Walker for finding her niche and owning it with “Czechoslovakian glass perfume bottles made between 1910-1939.”
Voting is open through March 25. The Eye of the Collector exhibit opens April 16.
Here’s the relevant part of the press release from the Perot:
CAST YOUR BALLOT! PUBLIC INVITED TO VOTE NOW THROUGH MARCH 25 TO DECIDE PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNER FOR PEROT MUSEUM’S EYE OF THE COLLECTOR EXHIBITION
Voting is open now through March 25 at perotmuseum.org/vote; People’s Choice winner to be featured in Eye of the Collector exhibition, three category finalists’ collections to be displayed within Museum
DALLAS (March 7, 2016) – Super Tuesday may have come and gone, but now it’s time to cast a vote to select the final collector for the Perot Museum’s first full-scale, self-curated exhibition, Eye of the Collector. After entries poured in over the last month, an impressive group of judges stepped in to narrow the contestant pool down to 15 finalists – five collectors from each of the three categories of “Best Youth” (17 and under), “Most Unique” and “Most Visually Stunning.” Their collections range from vintage Texas and pop-culture curiosities, to connections with the past and simple objects gathered over family vacations. Now through March 25, it’s up to the public to decide the People’s Choice winner, whose collection will be featured in the much-anticipated Eye of the Collector exhibition, which runs April 16 – Sept. 5, 2016. In addition, the three finalists’ collections (one from each category) will be displayed within the Museum. To view and vote, go to perotmuseum.org/vote.
The five finalists in the “Best Youth (17 and under)” category include a collection of heart-shaped rocks, an assortment of antique bottles, a treasure trove of rubber duckies, and memorabilia dedicated to Godzilla and Dr Pepper. The finalists in the “Most Unique” category include several thousand spinning tops, traditional Japanese dolls, toy space guns, Harry Houdini mementos and trinkets dedicated to the art of shining shoes. The “Most Visually Stunning” collections earning a final spot include handmade guitars, early 20th-century perfume bottles, Victorian barbershop glassware, designer hats and a piano completely covered in Beatles collectibles.
The six stellar judges who determined the finalists are Joshua Good (artist and founder of The Aurora-Rhoman Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics); Ben Jones (dean of the Dallas Zoo’s Wild Earth Academy); Olivier Meslay (chief curator, Dallas Museum of Art); Melissa Prycer (executive director at Dallas Heritage Village at Old City Park); Jordan Roth (co-owner and gallery director, Ro2 Art); and Scott Winterrowd (curator of education, Meadows Museum).
In addition to the “People’s Choice” winner, Eye of the Collector will feature signature pieces from Nancy and Randy Best including paleontological specimens, early hominids, pre-Columbian artifacts and weapons, Sumerian tablets and spectacular minerals extracted from the earth, to name a few. Among the other collectors are an avid Dallas Cowboys fan with one of the largest-ever assortments of team memorabilia; a Guinness World Record-holding collector of Star Wars mementos; a beloved civic leader with a passion for Ballet Folklórico costumes; an arts patron who collects unique, wearable works of art made with unexpected materials; a PEZ aficionado; an enthusiast of African American dolls; a fossil guru with a mastodon jaw that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson; an admirer of exquisite folk art; and a keeper of vintage bicycles.
Presented by Highland Capital Management, Eye of the Collector is free for members. Non-members pay a surcharge along with purchase of Museum general admission for a total admission cost of $24 for adults (18-64), $15 for youth (2-17), $18 for seniors (65+), and free for children under 2.
