Backstage with Sandy Kenyon: Bowie in Brooklyn
BROOKLYN, New York City (WABC) -- It's taken five years to reach New York City, but the David Bowie exhibition has finally touched down at the Brooklyn Musuem.
Bowie was a pioneer whose contributions were not limited to just music. He was a rock god, but also an artist; an androgynous star with a lifelong interest in many forms of art besides rock and roll.
"David Bowie rewrote the book of rock and roll, and he opened up a lot of different dialogues with people about music, about sexuality, about what it was to be a rock and roll star in the 20th Century," curator Matthew Yokobosky said.
The title "David Bowie Is" allows visitors to fill in the blank and define for themselves the late star's legacy.
"The exhibition is done as an immersive audio experience," Yokobosky said. "You get a pair of headphones, and as you walk through, the exhibition is changing channels for you."
Yokobosky, who is also Director of Exhibition Design at the museum, brought the exhibit to Brooklyn from London, the city Bowie called home. He died there in 2016.
"You encounter David Bowie as Ziggy Stardusk, as Aladdin Sane, as the Thin White Duke, as a pop star in the 80s," Yokobosky said. "You see him go through change after change, and it kept him relevant for the American public."
Bowie was born David Robert Jones. Early in his career, the young man borrowed the name of 19th-century American pioneer James Bowie, best known today as the inventor of the Bowie knife.
"Every album was different, so he just kept changing," Yokobosky said. "And as a fan, you had to keep changing with him."
The exhibit remains at the Brooklyn Museum through July 15. CLICK HERE for more information.
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