The Looks and the Mind of Mad Men
When the AMC TV show "Mad Men" premiered in 2007, it was immediately noted for its almost obsessive attention to detail. A new exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image shows some of those details up close.
Called “Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men,” the show features some of the props, costumes and sets from the critically acclaimed series about advertising executive Don Draper. Included are the shoebox holding the truth about Don’s history and the blood splattered green dress office manager Joan wore after a lawnmower accident in the Sterling Cooper offices.
At the beginning of the exhibit, there are clips from movies like "The Apartment" and "The Americanization of Emily" and an excerpt from show runner Matthew Weiner’s journal from the early 90s when he was beginning to sketch out the arc of Don’s journey.
Curator Barbara Miller said including these notes and movie clips is an attempt to draw a straight line from Weiner’s imagination, through the "Mad Men" writers’ room (transported from the Lionsgate lot in California and recreated in the exhibit) to the meticulously designed sets, clothes and finally, the show itself.
“The things that Matt Weiner was drawing on to bring all that together. That really rich, very eclectic mix of books and films and philosophies and personal memories,” Miller said.
The museum will also host a series of films selected by Weiner called “Required Viewing: Mad Men’s Movie Influences.”
After the exhibit, many of the pieces will go to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., but some will stay in Queens.
"Mad Men" kicks off its final season on April 5th. The exhibit continues through June 14th.
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