The first thing you notice about “Fantasy: Worlds Of Myths and Magic,” the new exhibit at the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum (EMP/SFM), is the door. It’s large and opens very slowly — the sort of thing a hobbit or even a wizard, might have.
Jasen Emmons, the EMP/SFM’s director of curatorial affairs, explains that the doorway originally held two smaller, human-sized doors, and it still had to be enlarged to make room for the larger one.
Once inside the door into the exhibit proper, it’s time to meet the Dragon. One first sees the Dragon’s tail, thicker around than a fire hose, poking out through some bars. Its head lies to the left of the tail, behind some more bars.
Emmons explains that if you play with the Dragon’s tail a bit, it will partially wake up on its other end. He then plays with the Dragon’s tail, but nothing happens. A few things are still being installed, he says during a preview.
Some of the most fascinating things in the “Fantasy” exhibit are the smaller pieces. A display case holds original manuscript pages from the flashpoint of modern fantasy literature and modern fantasy overall: J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, with its supplement, “The Hobbit.” These came all the way from Marquette University in Milwaukee, where Tolkien’s papers reside.
Through the exhibit saunter two technicians who have come to fix the Dragon. After some fiddling, the Dragon finally discharges a testy growl if its tail is touched.
Emmons mentions he is most fond of the Tolkien pages. In terms of costumes, he adds, “‘The Princess Bride’ material is the exhibit’s sweet spot — a classic fantasy film with a multigenerational audience that nearly everyone seems to be able to quote.” From that 1987 film, one of the most popular fantasy movies ever released, the exhibit holds a wedding gown from Buttercup, played by Robin Wright; the swashbuckling outfit and sword from Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin); the outfit and sword from the Dread Pirate Roberts (Cary Elwes); and the six-fingered glove brandished by the evil Count Rugen (Christopher Guest).
Other attractions include an interactive exhibit where you answer questions to determine your own fantasy archetype, an enormous dragonfly whose twin orbs serve as projection screens, a space to design and exhibit a map of your own fantasy world and a throne used in the massively popular “Game Of Thrones” television series.
A specially designed soundtrack from local composers Steve Fisk, Bill Ronan and Wayne Horvitz suspends and resolves over and over throughout.
“In the end,” Emmons says, “I hope [visitors to the exhibit] leave with a deeper understanding of why the fantasy genre strikes a deep chord with so many people: its historical use of archetypes; the creativity involved in creating a new world like Middle-Earth, Narnia or Westeros; and the sense that fantasy gives audiences something to aspire to — that no matter who you are, no matter how insignificant you may feel, by working with other people you have the power to overcome great odds. It’s an inspiring genre.”
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