The value of pop art is directly proportional to the care with which we treat it. That's a core thesis of a Disney exhibit at Orange County's Bowers Museum.
The Walt Disney Co. likes to say that Disneyland is not a museum — a phrase invoked whenever a beloved attraction undergoes a change that fans view as particularly painful. And yet there are most certainly aspects of Disneyland worthy of museum placement, and even times that Disney parks have acted like museums themselves.
So while an antique such as a grimy old telephone may not be as sexy as a larger-than-life, technologically advanced attraction such as the recently opened Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, don’t think an old rotary phone can’t influence a creative life.
Just ask Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and the man largely behind the sustained popularity of the modern superhero film. On his early trips to Disney’s theme parks as a child, seemingly random artifacts and props resonated with him as much as any ride. For Feige, these glimpses behind the curtain didn’t break the illusion of fantasy; instead, they inspired a deeper love for the art and the process behind it.
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