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Gallery celebrates Burbank centennial

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The Burbank Creative Arts Center Gallery honors the 100th anniversary of the city of Burbank with an exhibition comprising the creative genetics of local industry, which became the foundation for the culture of the city as it exists today.

For the recently opened show, six iconic industry leaders, including Lockheed, Disney, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network, Falcon Theatres/Henderson Productions and Nickelodeon, bring evidence and artifacts of their participation in the historical development of Burbank.

Burbank was founded out of a farming/ranching community and named after Dr. David Burbank, who owned thousands of acres. The city’s incorporation in 1911 was concurrent with the extension of the Pacific Electric Railroad’s streetcar line between Los Angeles and Burbank, which transformed the farm town into an attractive and accessible site for industry.

Burbank’s legacy includes 77 years, 1913-1990, as home to Lockheed, a leader in the aerospace industry, and the legitimate claim as “Media Capital of the World” as host to more than 700 media-related companies in addition to the world’s television, film, and stage mega media families, several of whom are exhibitors in the birthday show.

The Burbank Creative Art Center Gallery moves walls and reconfigures space to accommodate the exhibits, and though a 6-foot prototype study by Lockheed was not in scale with the space available, the aerospace giant does bring model planes and conceptual drawings of their early projects. Burbank’s recreation supervisor, Regi Cutler, who works together with Gallery Director Frances Santistevan on the exhibition, says “Everything is art … creativity is creativity, whether the result is an airplane, a sitcom or a painting.”

According to Cutler, Garry Marshall, a Burbank resident of 45 years and founder of the Falcon Theatre and Henderson Productions, is one of the Burbank Creative Arts Center’s greatest supporters. Marshall contributes costumes and photography to the exhibition from some of his many productions. As a producer, director and writer of film, television and theater, his offering comes from quite a treasure trove: “Pretty Woman,” “Runaway Bride,” “Happy Days,” “The Odd Couple,” “Crimes of the Heart” and “Fahrenheit 451,” to name a few.

Disney gives a big nod to the Burbank Centennial with an exhibit focused on animated films and theme parks; conceptual drawings and final park schematics serve as proof of their pioneering an entertainment paradigm. In 1939, Walt Disney built a studio to produce animated films on 50 acres along Buena Vista Street. “Fantasia” was one of the first two films produced in the new studio (“Pinocchio” was the other) which will be the heart of the Disney display in the Burbank Anniversary Exhibition.

Warner Bros. Studios brings from their broad portfolio an autographed script from the sitcom “Friends” as well as Leonardo DiCaprio’s costume from the movie “Inception.” It is rumored that Marvin the Martian, the Warner Bros. animated antlike version of Mars, the Roman god of war, will make an appearance in maquette form (study scale model). Cartoon Network also contributes a maquette of one of their “Power Puff Girls” animated characters, and Nickelodeon will run video of its current 12 shows with plenty of interesting still photos in its exhibit.

There is no wonder that Burbank has a rich heritage with the concentration of creative energy that has contributed to its legacy. Happy 100th, Burbank!

Infobox

What: “City of Burbank 100th Anniversary Exhibition”

When: Aug. 5 to 25. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Where: Burbank Creative Arts Center Gallery, 100 West Clark Ave., Burbank

Contact: (818) 238-5397

Terri Martin is an art historian and a critic for the Glendale News-Press.

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