When a group of international press descended on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art this week, a common question in the discourse was 'What the hell is narrative art?' Well, when George Lucas, founder of the museum, made a surprise appearance, he set the record straight: art that tells stories.
‘For 2,000 years, the only way you could tell a story was with pictures,’ George Lucas said, referring to cave paintings that have a presence in the museum.
The library at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
However, for Lucas, honouring narrative art began with illustrators like those who composed the concept art for his history-making franchise, Star Wars. But after working on this museum for nearly 20 years, the idea kept expanding even into the building itself.
Critics have already called the facility ‘one of Lucas’s fantastical creatures.’ But to Ma Yansong, architect and founder of Beijing firm MAD, the floating design tells a different story. It’s a cloud, complete with a rainstorm pouring out of the waterfall feature on the north lawn.
Beyond the architectural marvel, the museum can be a part of anyone’s narrative even without a ticket. The public green space features an amphitheater, vast gardens, and many pieces of art, including a fountain helming a statue of Yoda in the same mold as the one outside Skywalker Ranch. Except this one has Grogu, more commonly known as “Baby Yoda,” clinging tightly to his elder’s robes, a sign of how the story of Star Wars has advanced over time.
Lucas Plaza at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Those without tickets can then head into the Education Wing through one of the two main entrances (similar to Yansong’s design for the Hainan Science Museum), walk under a full-scale Naboo Starfighter from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), and enter the free library with three floors of bookshelves. During our visit, there were such books on display as a history of Lucas’s visual effects company, Industrial Light & Magic. Another was the complete works of Austrian painter Egon Schiele.
The screening room at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Across the courtyard created by the main gallery floor that connects the two entrances from four stories up is the Museum Wing, which requires a ticket. The first thing you’ll see are the three tubular elevators that look like they were pulled right out of the Death Star. Before you ride them up (which Yangsong describes as 'departing reality'), enter two theaters showing constant films throughout open hours, and there is an exhibit to the left entitled “The History of Narrative Art: Heroes, Myths, The Sacred.”
The elevators at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
This is where the cave paintings are. George Lucas is not shy about how he borrowed from history to create Star Wars. The Cinema gallery upstairs reveals the end result. Find Anakin’s life-size pod racer in action from The Phantom Menace and the original R2-D2 seen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). Almost every scene is accompanied by the original illustrations by now-famous concept artists such as Ralph McQuarrie, showing the genesis of iconic sequences and characters from their initial static versions.
Inside the galleries
The rest of the galleries are grouped by interesting criteria. Some are dedicated to artists like Norman Rockwell. There are multiple iterations of his seminal piece “Triple Self Portrait.” Others are grouped by genres like fantasy, science fiction, and adventure. A bronze statue of Indiana Jones welcomes the latter.
Banksy at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Some galleries are based on societal elements such as school, sports, and civic life, the last of which includes anti-war propaganda going back to 1971. I was hoping to see a section on music, but my itch was scratched when I saw a photo from the Beatles' legendary Abbey Road shoot in the photography section. Oh, and Banksy has an original stencil in the mural section one floor up.
Oculus at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
These widespread classifications demonstrate how stories told with pictures have permeated every aspect of our lives, and Tracey Bates, CEO of the Lucas Museum, hopes they will have the same effect on someone as such art had on George.
‘The most exciting part isn’t what we built. It’s what will happen once we open the doors. If this museum sparks that same imagination in even one young mind that George felt 50 years ago, it will have been well worth it.’
