Anyone who really knows me knows that I love Star Wars - particularly the first three movies produced, what we now call episodes IV, V & VI.

The first movie, just called Star Wars but later re-named Episode IV: A New Hope, was first released in May of 1977, when I was 11 years old, but I didn't get to see it until I was 12, because my parents wouldn't take me to Evansville, Indiana, the nearest city that was showing it - I had to wait a full year before it finally came to my town in Kentucky. And I went to see it for the first time by myself - none of my friends then were interested.

The poster from the last release of the original Star Wars movie in 198xx was on the wall of every apartment I had in the 1990s - I bought it via the Star Wars Fan Club, of which I was a proud, devoted member for a few years. That poster is on the wall of my house right now, in the living room. The poster has a big red slash on it that says this showing of Star Wars features a preview for the third and "last" movie, Revenge of the Jedi (yes, REVENGE, not "Return"). For decades, not many people cared about it, but now, everyone seems to be a Star Wars fan.

But in the fall of 1994, enthusiasm for Star Wars had waned dramatically from those original heights. I rarely met anyone then who said they were a fan. A lot of people thought my Star Wars poster was weird - being a sci fi fan was NOT cool. I felt very alone in my continuing devotion. I was living in the Santa Clara County, California, and somehow, probably via the Star Wars community on America Online, I found out that there was going to be an exhibit of props and costumes from the Star Wars trilogy at the Center for the Arts in Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, California, December 27, 1994 through March 12, 1995. The exhibit was called The Art of Star Wars, and it was going to be the largest display of Star Wars props and costumes ever showcased to the public. As far as I knew, it was the ONLY public display of Star Wars artifacts ever.

My birthday is in January, and I decided to make going to this exhibit my birthday present to myself, a day of celebration of turning 29 and loving these movies. A dear friend (Hi, Beth!) said she wanted to go too, and I was so happy that I would not, for the first time in a very long time, not be alone in doing something Star Wars related.

And so we went.

A full-sized Yoda puppet stood by the entrance, in a glass case, but the light showing it didn't stay on but for a few seconds. It was the same for the Darth Vader costume. The sign said something about doing that because you only got a glimpse of them in the movies, never a long look, and they wanted a similar experience in the exhibit - indeed, viewing Vader's costume up close made it look cheaply made, definitely not intended for long closeups on screen. Then came the ships. Of course I lost my mind seeing the Millennium Falcon model up close, as well as the little toy ship Luke is playing with in "Star Wars" when he says "It just isn't fair..." - that was actually a ship model for the movie, a version of which was used as the shuttle in Return of the Jedi. The escape pod from Star Wars was pretty much just a bucket - the greatest bucket EVER. All of the props, up close, under that direct light, didn't look like anything special - and I loved that, knowing that these simply made things look oh-so-magical in the movies. Things weren't displayed all that formally - you could have violated all the signs and just reached right out and touched stuff (I didn't). Other than those flashing lights at the start, there was no mood lighting - just bright lights, with items displayed all around the rooms. It felt more like the props warehouse, and I was good with that.

I remember one of the matte paintings on display from ROTJ, I think, had a storm trooper that had a white smiley face instead of a proper helmet - off to the side, would never have made it on screen.

I was loving the exhibit of props, getting giggling. Beth and I would squeal "Look at this!" when we saw something particularly amazing, like Han's blaster (grin). But I cried when I came into the hall with all the costumes. I just burst into tears immediately and had to sit down on the couches in the middle of the room and just stare at them. Luckily, Beth also teared up. We were overwhelmed. It was glorious. It was the best birthday of my life up to that point, and still in the top three.

The poster from that exhibit is now in my home office/guest room. If you stay with me, you get to stare at it every day. If you steal it, I will find you, and I will kill you.

I wrote a lovely, emotional review of the show on the America Online Star Wars group - sadly, I didn't save that review (if you can somehow find that group saved somewhere on the Interwebs, my review would have been there between January 15th and January 23rd). I did find something I emailed a friend that captures a bit of what the experience was like for me:

Subject: An Incredible Experience

"The Art of Star Wars", now at the Yerba Buena Arts Center in San Francisco, is a religious experience. It is definitely an exhibit for those who love the movie, not just "casual" fans: Lots of models (all the ships, many of the creatures and puppets, and many prototypes they diómdn't even use), costumes (Darth Vader, C3PO, Chewbacca [he's HUGE], Leia from "Star Wars", Leia from "Jedi" [sexy outfit and disguise outfit], Han Solo, Sand Person, Storm Trooper, Jawa, Lando, R2D2, Medical Droid from "Empire", Rebel X-Wing Flyer uniform, Tie-fighter pilot, etc., etc.), masks (lots from "Jedi", but Cantina people from "Star Wars" were conspicuously missing),  drawings, concept sketches (they should have stuck with the first ideas for Ewoks -- much more fierce and alien looking) and matte paintings (it was noted that there is a tiny Trans America building to the lower left of the docking bay on the Death Star, and one of the Storm Troopers in the legion in the opening of "Jedi" has a happy face instead of a mask)-- I cried because I thought, "This was my LIFE when I was a teenager!" Heck, I think it still is. Afterward, we (my friend Beth and I) walked the grounds of this incredible facility, and found ourselves behind a huge man-made waterfall reading the words of Dr. Marin Luther King. I think this is one of the best birthdays I've ever had. I will DEFINITELY go again (according to the literature on the exhibit, most people said they plan to return to the exhibit). There are a few interesting things in the gift shop, but not many "collectables" (and yet, if that is so, how come I spent over $30 in the gift shop?). Football game? What football game?

I didn't go a second time. I so regret that.

Here's the original press release (I have it because I was on the America Online Star Wars group):

Subj: "Art of STAR WARS" Press Release
95-01-03 22:27:15 EST
From: YerbaBuena

FROM: David Perry
(phone numbers redacted) RECORD-BREAKING CROWDS TURN OUT FOR
THE ART OF STAR WARS AT CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Nearly 4,000 Pour through Galleries on Opening Day of Exhibition

SAN FRANCISCO, 27 December 1994 - Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens recorded its largest gallery attendance since opening in October 1993 on the first day of the American Premiere exhibition The Art of STAR WARS. With a promise of free gallery admission for the first 500 visitors, the lines started forming at the Center's Mission Street entrance at 5 a.m. this morning. By the time doors opened at 11 a.m., 1,200 enthusiastic fans were waiting in a line that stretched for three blocks to be among the first to see over 400 props, costumes, storyboard paintings, and other artifacts from George Lucas' STAR WARS Trilogy, and by the end of the day attendance totaled nearly 4,000. The Center's offer of a free gift for the first 100 people in costume brought out fans dressed as Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Ewoks, Storm Troopers, Sand People, R2-D2, and other celestial creatures.

The Center's staff worked round the clock to complete preparations for the blockbuster exhibition, and stood with media from throughout the Bay Area when the doors to the gallery opened to a loud cheer from the crowd. Center Artistic Director Renny Pritikin, who curated The Art of STAR WARS, said, "I've long wanted to do a show on pop culture and its influence on art and our perceptions of ourselves. I am ecstatic with the response."

Noting the large number of first-time visitors to the Center for this exhibition, Managing Director Leslie Miko said of today's opening, "Center for the Arts was founded to expand the boundaries of our definitions of art, and the overwhelming response this morning shows that we can do that and broaden our audience base at the same time. This exhibition will help realize my definition of success for the Center: bustling buildings, happy people, and balanced budgets." Proceeds from The Art of STAR WARS will help fund arts and education programs at the Center.

Howard Roffman, Vice President of Licensing for Lucasfilm, said, "To be at the Center today and see thousands of people spanning several generations was a testament to the impact that STAR WARS has had, and continues to have. It touched all of us, and it is wonderful to be able to give something back to the fans with an exhibition like this."

Judging from exit interviews conducted in the Center's lobby, the exhibition was a big hit, with most planning to return for another visit, and all saying they would tell their friends to see the show. Tickets for The Art of STAR WARS, which runs through March 12th, are $8 for adults; and $5 for students, seniors, and youth 16 & under, available at Center for the Arts (415/978-ARTS) and through BASS ticket outlets.

Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens is an independent non-profit arts complex which opened to wide international acclaim in October 1993. Comprising two landmark buildings - the Galleries and Forum designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, and Theater by American architect James Stewart Polshek - the Center presents arts and entertainment emphasizing the diverse artists and communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. Built by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, which also provides partial support for the Center's ongoing facility maintenance, Center for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit responsible for raising all funds for its arts and education programs.

- END -

Here's a post from the America Online Star Wars group back in the day:

Subj: Art...
95-01-01 20:04:40 EST
From: Don Bies

The Exhibit runs in San Francisco from Dec. 27 until March 12, 1995. It is a scaled down version of the Japanese exhibit (that exhibit had other Lucasfilm productions represented). Currently, Lucasfilm has NO plans to tour this exhibit to any other city or museum. A much smaller exhibit featuring Star Wars stuff will be on display sometime in 1997 at the Smithsonian, but for a year ONLY. I know this because I am the former LFL archivist, having spent 7 years at Lucasfilm. I coordinated the Japanese exhibit, as well as co-coordinated the 1988 Marin County Fair exhibit and advised on the Yerba Buena Exhibit, among other things (such as the Energizer spot...and c'mon guys, it's only a commercial...). I will be online and checking this folder for this week only--if any of you have any questions regarding the archives, the exhibit, or Lucasfilm, I'll be happy yo chat with you. Please e-mail me directly. I'll be happy to clear up all of your nagging questions and rumors...at least I'll do my best. But remember, I'm only online until January the 7th, 1995.

Don Bies

I really do think the HUGE success of this exhibit was unexpected. I don't know if that 1997 exhibit at the Smithsonian happened, but and the unexpected WILD success of the re-releases in the 90s, before the prequels came out, lead to the creation of the much better known, much slicker, and smaller Star Wars exhibit tour in 2000-2002 (which I also saw - at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC).

I was in a huge amount of debt in this time, so I couldn't go to the March 3 benefit party in conjunction with the exhibit. I wanted to, but I just couldn't afford it. There were rumors that George Lucas would be there, but I ultimately decided it was just way too expensive to go. So you can imagine what I thought when I saw this post on the America Online Star Wars board:

Subj:  Lucas, , C3PO AND R2 at Party        

From:  YerbaBuena

Hey - fans and friends. Thanks for all the interest in the exhibit. Following is detailed info on the March 3rd benefit party for the Center. To those who wished for more notice: we were unable to nail down Mr. Lucas until only recently and did not want to post mis-information about whether he could come or not. And yes, the Cantina will be a full-fledged theme party: costumes, sets, actors, etc. Should be a hoot. The invites haven't even hit doorsteps yet and we've sold one whole table!
Also, tonight's lecture by Renny Pritikin at the Center was fab. Don't miss the others!

Peace

David Perry
Communications Director
Center for the Arts

That would have been my only chance to ever be in the same room with George Lucas. I bet it was an amazing evening.

But at least I got to see this exhibit.

Here are links to others who were at the exhibit. If these URLs don't work, go to the source code and cut and paste the URL into archive.org:

Here is an awesome fan-made video of the exhibit.

Here's a blog by Stuart Feldman, who was actually at the opening when he was a kid.

There's an archive of exhibit photos by a fan, and his impressions, here: theswca.com/travel/sanfrancisco/sanfrancisco.html.

His another fan's archive: www.originalprop.com/blog/2009/10/06.

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