Episode II: The Artistry of Horror

Darkness looms and the scary emerge as Halloween creeps ever closer.  We are already deep into the Halloween season with many a frightful activities have been underway for some time. As for myself, I like to start as early as possible and this year was no exception.

The first stop was the opening night of Freaks: An Exhibition of Artworks by Clive Barker and Gail Potocki. Opening nights are the best, because you get to be among those that experience first and more often than not, the night’s festivities are free.

In a word, chilling.

Along with the artwork, the space offered its own dark ambiance. Though it was small it offered a lot, to the creepy hallway you walked down upon first entering, to the tiny dining room set up towards the back complete with an eerie chandelier hanging above you. And the artwork filling every crevice in between.

The pieces have a way of entering your mind and taking through a journey to a completely different world, a different dimension even. I’m not going to lie though, I loved all of them, and I even wish I could have afforded to purchase a few of them. Future purchases for sure.

After the mist that was Clive Barker, it was nice a few weeks later to come up to the murky surface at The Last Bookstore, or as it was called that night the Last Spook Store: A Horror Story Art Show.

A collection of classic horror novels such as Shelley’s Frankenstein, King’s Pennywise the Clown, Lovecraft’s Nyarlathotep, and many more are captured by 31 artists into 31 original pieces of art. Again, it was opening night and this was definitely a popular event.  It wasn’t shocking as most events at this location are very popular.

There was a line down the street when the doors opened and I decided after seeing that to grab some food to kill time waiting for the line to die down. It was Carl’s Jr. because I was so hungry and it was the closest thing walking distance from the store. It was awful, but my hunger did not care.

By the time I got back everyone else was already inside and I mean EVERYONE. It was so packed, but not in an overbearing way. Well, the body heat wasn’t fun, but other than that, totally fine. The space can handle big crowds, which is incredible; however, it could be the use of a second floor.

There was a bar available, in which I did not partake, more due to my lack of timing (I wanted to check out everything else, alcohol could wait) A stage was set with a band already in full swing, in full female Ghostbuster’s gear and they put on a show.  

I never thought I would see a mosh pit in the middle of a bookstore and now I can put that on my list of experiences. Honestly though they were lucky that the shelves were on wheels and just kind of rolled out of their way. And of course, no Ghostbuster’s show is complete without an appearance from the State Puff Marshmallow Man. Thankfully, it didn’t get messy.

As the show continued, I wandered upstairs, viewing the amazing artwork along the way and it was more than just paintings. It really can best be described as everything was art and it was glorious. And to top it all was the Labyrinth of books which I have dreamed about seeing and now I finally got to walk through it. It was like entering a meta version of your book dreams, at least that’s how it was for me.

Continuing along the other wall were more artists selling their wears and willing to enter engaging conversations about their pieces. From the beautifully classic, to the utterly bizarre, you really could find a piece of art for anyone in here.

One of the pieces that I particularly got a kick out of was this.

If you don’t know why I love it, then you never will.

When the time came everyone reluctantly left the store and submerged themselves back into the dirty Los Angeles streets. As for me, I eventually found my way to some alcohol along with two of my friends who made the nights adventures that much more worthwhile.

Both nights were great and it makes me want to reach out and explore more of the artistry that the Los Angeles area has to offer. Or it could be that this truly is my favorite subject matter and I simply want to see more artwork like what was displayed. I know I will forever be a horror buff and the fact that I enjoyed every second I gazed upon those unique works, proves that it will most definitely never go away.  And that is fine by me.

Until the spiteful spirits come knocking again.