CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (PIX11) — The Brooklyn Museum is honoring celebrated filmmaker and Brooklyn native Spike Lee in a big way.
The museum is exploring the creative sources of the Academy Award-winning film director by creating an immersive installation of his own items. The exhibit is called Creative Sources.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Sonya Spillers-Brown, a museum-goer, told PIX11 News. “I have loved Spike Lee ever since he started making movies and films.”
They came from the neighborhood, across the five boroughs and beyond to see Spike Lee’s collection of art, sports memorabilia, clothing, books, and film clips. The 66-year-director of “Do the Right Thing” and “Malcolm X” has been called the defining figure in the Black community of Brooklyn.
“I think it’s really cool and a full circle moment to have this at the Brooklyn Museum,” Melissa Jean-Baptiste, a museum-goer, told PIX11 News.
Spike Lee was born in Atlanta but raised in Brooklyn, saying he was one of the first Black families to move into Cobble Hill. The exhibit of his life and work is divided into seven sections, 468 items in all, including a room devoted to Knicks memorabilia.
“It’s the kind of exhibit that needs to be seen again and again because different pieces are going to grab you every time.” Gail Flanery, an art teacher, and museum-goer told PIX11 News.
For Flanery, Spike Lee’s collage by Sylvia Hernandez brought her close to tears.
“Maybe it’s my age, growing up with the song, which is one of my favorites, but I was crying ‘mother mother there’s too many of you crying,’” Flanery told PIX11 News. “I sing this. I saw this, I am getting goosebumps just singing it.”
Another museum-goer, Ronell Scott, told PIX11 News “I love what he does for everyone and just to bring it back to Brooklyn Is great.”
The exhibit runs through Feb. 4 and tickets are $25.
