Rick Carter’s “TIME” Art Exhibit

Rick Carter was the production designer of ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’, among many other classic films from the ‘Back To The Future’ sequels to ‘Avatar’. In 2022, everyone had the chance to immerse themselves into Rick’s visually-stunning mind with ESMoA’s art exhibit: ‘TIME’.

“TIME, a project by artist and production designer Rick Carter, is an immersive collage that contemplates the concept of time. The exhibition features paintings, drawings, and collages by Carter along with photographs, movie memorabilia, and additional works by eight other artists who were invited to participate.”

See my exclusive footage of the exhibit in the video above!

Rick Carter further explains:

“Over the past five decades as an artist and film production designer, I am frequently immersed in the realizations of visual concepts. […] This experience at ESMoA provides the opportunity to explore with younger LA-based artists the legacy of my artistic career as both a painter and visual collaborator with movie directors.”

On April 30th, 2022, I attended a special advance preview of the exhibit, and it was quite extraordinary to see it in person! After being a fan of his production design in films for so many years, it was unique and exhilarating to be in a representation of his vast mind. Below is a gallery that features just a taste of what this exhibit was like.

For fans of ‘Jurassic Park,’ there were various interpretations by other artists that are beautiful and engaging. Such highlights included art by Jacori “Aiseborn” Perry that featured a raptor running towards the gates of ‘Jurassic Park’ and a Triceratops hatchling!

There was also a myriad of work by Rick Carter himself, of course; straight from his own production files. This included a special area at one end of the exhibit where a portion of the wall featured several key items that had never been seen before.

Unique collages of Jurassic Park’s Visitor Center and pencil sketches done on napkins created an early look into what would eventually be realized on the screen. A glass case at the center of this section displayed a miniature Velociraptor model created by Stan Winston’s team.

One of the coolest things for a ‘Jurassic Park’ fan to see was the mural Rick created that is actually featured in the film’s cafe; most iconically during Richard Attenborough’s portrayal of John Hammond as he tells his ‘Petticoat Lane’ story to Laura Dern’s Ellie Sattler. It was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s Guernica!

Another neat treat is an illustration of a Tyrannosaurus Rex made in 1990 (the first year of pre-production for ‘Jurassic Park’). It is credited to both Rick Carter and his daughter Amee Carter.

However, ‘Jurassic Park’ is just one of many films that Rick Carter was part of that the exhibit showcased. Other artifacts and artistic depictions included ‘Avatar’, ‘The Polar Express’, the ‘Back To The Future’ sequels, ‘Cast Away’, ‘What Lies Beneath’, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, ‘Forrest Gump’, and a lot more. There were also more abstract and personal pieces not related to any film, including many stunning renderings of human faces.

Walking around this massive room, with art reaching all the way to its tall ceiling, you couldn’t help but be wonderfully overwhelmed with Rick’s vision and the representations of his entire career (so far). One of the most arresting visuals Rick himself produced for this exhibit were the faces of the four leading directors he has worked with through the years: Steven Spielberg (‘Jurassic Park’), Robert Zemeckis (‘Back To The Future’ trilogy), James Cameron (‘Avatar’), & J.J. Abrams (‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’). They almost appeared to be looking down at the entire exhibit, seeing their entire worlds that Rick helped create with them.

One of the coolest features of this exhibit was the ability to have your own self-guided tour of sorts using ESMoA’s “Grid” feature! Using correlating numbers that are painted on the floor near the items they represent on the walls, you could look up each number on the Grid then select it to view a small cropped version of the artwork along with information about the specific artist and other details. There were even some fascinating sketchbooks that Rick created that you can digitally thumb through! These features are still informative, even since the exhibit’s closure.

Additional artists that illustrated Rick’s mind and career were: Alex Garcia, Luke Hayes, Muraji Khalil, ​Dalila Paola Méndez, ​​Helena Park, Jacori “Aiseborn” Perry, Ivan “Mr Mustart” Petrovsky, and Carlos “Kopyeson” Talavera.

The creation of the exhibit itself was also a massive undertaking, as evidenced in a cool timelapse video that begins with its inception then leads up to the preview event. The exhibit was curated by Dr. Bernhard Zuenkeler.

See if you can spot me in these screenshots from the timelapse video above!

While attending the art exhibit’s preview event, I saw all of the talented artists and ran into some ‘Jurassic’ veterans, including: Rick Carter (of course), David Lowery (Storyboard Artist), John Bell (Art Director), & Seamus Blackley (creator of the ‘Lost World’ PC game ‘Trespasser’… and a little thing called the XBOX). Seeing this exhibit with so many of the creative leads that were involved with the extraordinary films represented was certainly a night I will never forget!

While ESMoA is applauded for having an online version of the exhibit accessible to everyone, I must stress just how much more incredible it was to see it all in-person! They really did “spare no expense“! The amazing free exhibit was open from May 5^th to September 17^th 2022 in El Segundo, CA, USA.

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