• 
  1/10
  Red American Music Awards Jacket 1984, 2009
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  2/10
  Welcome to Neverland Valley, 2009
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  3/10
  White Swarovski Crystal Glove, 2009
• 
  4/10
  United We Stand Jacket 2001, 2009
• 
  5/10
  Porcelain Angel, 2009
• 
  6/10
  Yellow Swarovski Crystal Glove, 2009
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  7/10
  Peter Pan Original Edition 1911, 2009
• 
  8/10
  Triumph Tour 1981 Shirt & Bow Tie, 2009
• 
  9/10
  Black Fedora, 2009
• 
  10/10
  MTV Artist of the Decade Award 1990, 2009

“It is said that the pharaohs built tombs to reveal their lives to future generations. Michael Jackson sacrificed his childhood to the calling of his musical gift. Neverland was the pyramid he constructed to a lost childhood.” — Henry Leutwyler

Swiss-born photographer Henry Leutwyler has made a career of photographing objects that are intimate to the lives of influential figures in contemporary culture. Included in his collection of documented artifacts is the gun that killed John Lennon, Mahatma Gandhi’s glasses, and Andy Warhol’s paintbrush, each of which resonate with a reliquary significance.

In 2009 Leutwyler was given the opportunity to photograph the personal possessions of one of the most celebrated figures in popular culture: Michael Jackson. As a result of bankruptcy proceedings, Jackson’s assets had been removed from Neverland Ranch, Jackson’s Santa Ynez compound, and documented by Leutwyler while they awaited sale at auction.

Through his examination of Jackson’s personal belongings Leutwyler discovers an authentic story about a man who spent his entire life in the gaze of the media promoted through the hype of pop culture. It was as if Jackson not only acted the part of the “King of Pop” but that he became subsumed by it: fiction and reality blended. Jackon’s first-edition copy of Peter Pan and his collection of miniature “Wizard of Oz” figurines, contrasted with his opulent fantasy costumes with his trademark bejeweled gloves and socks, paint a conflicted portrait of a superstar who longed for a childhood lost.

Jackson died shortly after Leutwyler’s visit, and these photographs stand as the last collective portrait of Michael Jackson as seen through his personal artifacts. From Leutwyler’s examination of Michael Jackson’s world one can’t help but be struck by the undeniable sadness that attended the celebrated life of this brilliant performer.

View Marketing Booklet (PDF)

Number of Works: 37

Frame Sizes: Seven 63” x 49”, thirty 33” x 26”

Space Requirements: 193 linear feet (59 linear meters)

Tour Dates: Winter 2011 to Winter 2014

Participation Fee: Contact CATE for information

Support Materials: Exhibition catalogue (Steidl, 2010)

REVIEWS AND NEWS

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New York Times, Judith Puckett-Rinella, June 18, 2010
Los Angeles Times Magazine, Mayer Rus, June 2010
Times Online, Tim Teeman, May 29, 2010