Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Masquerade at the Art Ghoullery

Arts | October 23rd, 2019

Drawing by Christina Johnson

By Jill Finkelson
jsfinkelson99@gmail.com

From October 4 to November 3, the Rourke Museum’s upstairs gallery becomes the Art Ghoullery: Black Cats and Vampire Bats. It’s the perfect backdrop for a masquerade party. Costumes are encouraged but not required for this fun event at the beautiful Moorhead museum. The collection features creepy cats, halloween masks, whimsical witches and more. The artists are competing for “Best in Show” and “Audience Choice” to be given away on Friday night. They will be featuring food, music, and puzzles for the party. Puzzled Escape Rooms, great lovers of Halloween, are providing the puzzles so they should be fresh and challenging.

A few years ago, Mark Elton and Jonathon Ritter, the executive director of the Rourke museum discussed a Halloween themed exhibit. A well-timed drawing contest and an open room in October provided the perfect opportunity. After last year’s success, the exhibit came back this year with more pieces from artists all over the place. An open call for Halloween art found them inundated with wonderful pieces to pare down to the curated pieces on display today. I asked Mark about his favorite pieces in the show.

Mark Elton: I can't choose any specific favorites at this moment, but I do want to point out a few of the stand-out artists and why their art is so special:

First off, there is Madison Henline; Her two pieces, “Scaredy Cat” and “Pumpkin Head,” each have a hypnotic flow that weaves the eye around the monotone field. Yet, each were done in ballpoint pen, proving it's not the tools that matter, but how the artist uses them.

Heather Rutten's piece "Bat Cat" is whimsically fun and representative of a Halloween aesthetic that doesn't need to rely on the frightening to get the feel across.

You can tell that Jessi Hardesty and Edyn Rashae put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work. Coincidentally, they both bleed Halloween, and thus produce incredible pieces like "Big Jack" (Jessi) and "Retro Dracula Mask" (Edyn)

Chad Savage has three amazing pieces in the Art Ghoullery. However, what is fascinating is how different they are from each other. "31" and "Halloween Spirits" are a fantastic example of chiaroscuro in action. Yet his third piece - "October" - proves Savage is a man of many talents, as his mastery of composition and color that come together to create a visually vibrant piece that leaps out and grabs the viewer by the neck.

Photograph by Edyn Rashae

As a reminder, the museum is free and open to the public 1-5 pm Fridays-Saturdays. It is well worth an afternoon stroll to put you in the Halloween mood. The museum is also hosting pop art, African metalwork and their own Rourke collection, all a good reason to visit on a fall afternoon.

IF YOU GO:

Masquerade in the Art Ghoullery

Friday, October 25, 6:30-8 p.m.

Rourke Art Gallery and Museum, 521 Main Avenue, Moorhead

Recently in:

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comThere’s not really a word for reconciliation, it's said in our language. There’s a word for making it right. To talk about reconciliation in terms of the relationship between Indigenous…

December 16, 18-20, 12 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., FargoDon’t miss an annual Fargo Theatre holiday tradition. The Red River Theatre Organ Society presents (almost) a full week of holiday concerts on the Mighty Wurlitzer…

By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com Okay, so last month I promised you a woman President of the United States. So much for my predictability quotient. Lesson 1: Never promise something you can’t control. And nobody, not even…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill God Ever Text Margaret Back and Answer Her Prayers?More than 50 years ago a young Judy Blume wrote about 13-year-old Margaret Simon in a contemporary realistic novel titled “Are You There,…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s sophomore feature “Dandelion” is now playing in theaters following a world premiere at South by Southwest in March. The movie stars KiKi Layne as the…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIn 1974, the Jamestown Arts Center started as a small space above a downtown drugstore. It has grown to host multiple classrooms, a gallery, performance studio, ceramic studio and outdoor art park.…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…

Rynn WillgohsJanuary 25, 1972-October 8, 2024 Rynn Azerial Willgohs, age 52, of Vantaa, Finland, died by suicide on October 8, 2024. Rynn became her true-self March 31, 2020. She immediately became a vocal and involved activist…

By Curtis W. Stofferahn, Ph.D.Curtis.stofferahn@email.und.edu In June, two events markedly contrasted the difference between two different visions of agriculture: precision agriculture and regenerative agriculture. The dedication…