By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
“I have news and you need to be sitting down” is how I told my daughter, a Muppet fan, that the Grand Rapids Art Museum would be bringing “Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited” to Grand Rapids next fall, with an opening date of Oct. 1, 2022.
This past summer, the two of us made the trek down to Detroit to see the exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum. This was after me stalking the dates for months to determine when I could get there.
“Hey maybe you’ll be able to get your t-shirt.” she said in response.
Yes, my daughter got her love for the Henson creations from me. I grew up on “Sesame Street” with Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, The Count, and of course, the lovable, iconic green frog named Kermit. She and her sister had a tickle-me “Elmo” that they would sit with as they watched the iconic television show. “Sesame Street” is where most of us discovered the Muppets, which is said to be a blend of the word marionette and puppet.
But by the time, Henson and “Sesame Street,” which debuted in 1969, came about, Henson had already made a name for himself, having created Rowlf for the “Jimmy Dean Show” (I never knew Rowlf was that old) and he received an Academy Award-nomination for his nine-minute experimental film “Time Piece.”
TV producer Joan Ganz Cooney and her staff at Children’s Television Workshop were impressed with Henson’s quality and creativity and asked him to be a part of the show. At first, Henson was not that interested because he was afraid of his Muppets being pigeon-holed for only children, but he eventually agreed. “Sesame Street” would help launch Henson into TV stardom.
But it was Miss Piggy, Gonzo the Great, Fozzie Bear, and Kermit along with the rest of “The Muppet Show” cast that would cement Henson, along with partner Frank Oz, into television history.
“The Muppet Show” ran from 1970 -1978 and produced several Muppet movies, the most famous and loved being the 1979 “The Muppet Movie.” I loved it so much, that I purchased the soundtrack on cassette tape and wore it down on the song “I Am Going to Go Back There Someday,” preformed by Gonzo. Today, it remains part of my regular playlist on my iPhone.
Henson would go on to create such cult classics as “The Dark Crystal” and “Labyrinth,” which starred David Bowie. Some also may remember “Fragile Rock” and the animated “Muppet Babies.” By 1990, Henson had sold his company to The Walt Disney Company and completed a few more projects for Disney before his untimely death in 1990.
Organized by the Museum of Moving Image, the upcoming exhibit explores how Henson and his team of designers, writers, technicians, and performers brought to life his many creations. It will feature more than 170 historical objects including iconic puppets, historic costumes, character sketches, storyboards, photographs, annotated scripts, film and television clips, and behind-the-scenes footage. The focus of it all is, of course, center’s on Henson’s ultimate goal, to spark the creativity in all of us.
“The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited” will be open through Jan. 15, 2023. Currently at the GRAM is “An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 1960-2018.” and “An Interwoven Legacy: the Black Ash Basketry of Kelly Church and Cherish Parrish.” For more on current exhibits and activities at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, visit artmuseumgr.org.
The characters of Kira and Jen from Jim Henson’s “The Dark Crystal” at the recent Henry Ford Museum exhibit of Jim Henson’s work. (Courtesy of Joanne Bailey-Boorsma) 
The David Bowie’s costume from the film “The Labyrinth.” (Courtesy of Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
