Jim Henson’s Fantastical World lies three levels below the unassuming dome of the Smithsonian’s International Gallery of Art. To enter the exhibit, you must walk past two or three dimly lit galleries and through a colored hall, its walls embossed with phrases like, “The only rule is that there are no rules.”
What follows is a manifesto that praises the individual and pokes fun at perceived limitations.
You can walk through the galleries and see one of the first hand-stitched Kermit puppets, watch old episodes of Sam and Friends, and view the messy scrawl of original Muppet scripts by a man whose greatest enemy was the possibility of limitation.
Not only that, but its funny, too. The old Muppet skits on Johnny Carson have tap-dancing letters who fight for attention. The sketches on the wall show a little girl feeding a monster his own tail. A picture of two unibrowed purple humps is named Two Big Uglies.
The fantastical world on display pokes fun at our real one: one short film shows a man trapped in a white-paneled cube, trapped in the existential nightmare that Henson constantly escaped through his work.
The exhibit also makes the point that the Muppets weren’t the full breadth of Henson’s work or thoughts, displaying his short films—postmodern vignettes full of satire and exaggeration—as well.
The exhibit’s final room is designated an “activity” area where munchkin museum visitors can try their hands at operating Muppets behind a makeshift puppet stage. There isn’t a shy kid in the room. Evidently, the exhibition’s sermon on imagination and confidence works.
Jim Henson’s Fantastic World will be at the Smithsonian International Gallery until October 5th. The International Gallery is located at 1100 Jefferson Drive SW, and is open every day from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm
