Ever feel like you’re being watched? The ninth semi-annual Culture of Cult installation ‘Bump in the Night’ was full of everything horror and thrill. Artworks of your favorite and most-feared characters lined the walls of the Ore Dock Brewing Co. staring down gallery goers.
More than 30 artists, both locally-based and from across the nation, participated in the second to last and most requested theme by Culture of Cult on Thursday, Oct. 24.
Culture of Cult is a pop-up art show founded in 2014 by Mike Forester, senior creative services director for NMU. Each show has a cult-related theme that artists have to follow. In past series, the gallery themes ranged from video games to popular franchises such as “Star Wars” and “Batman.”
“There’s a pretty vibrant art community around here,” Forester said. “We didn’t have a lot of modern galleries where they’re changing topics or doing pop culture references or anything like that.”
The series creates a secondary opportunity for NMU students to get their work featured outside of school galleries. It was made to give students more validity when it comes to their resume.
“I remember as a student, when I was here, I felt like everything that I would get invited to was all through NMU,” Forester said. “On a resume, it looks cool to be featured in pop-up art galleries with big name artists.”
“Bump in the Night” inspired artists to create work of all mediums centered around the broad topic of horror movies. Artwork displayed all things horror movies from the 1950s to modern day. It is a celebration of the fighting characters and unforgettable scenes.
“What makes the show so exciting is seeing multiple subjects created in different ways. We had multiple pieces centered around the same film,” Forester said. “The pieces were so wildly different, from not only the medium but the interpretation of them. It’s really interesting to see what the artists connect to out of the iconic characters and scenes.”
The Ore Dock created a limited-edition beer for the horror-themed night called “Nightmare on Spring Street”—a black IPA inspired by Freddie Kreuger from the classic 1984 film “Nightmare on Elm Street.” Pints of the Kveik Voss Thriller brew were being poured in the taproom.
“It’s a really great opportunity for students and artists in Marquette,” sophomore graphic communications major Bryce Devore said. “Even though it’s a pretty serious thing, you’re able to have a lot of fun with it. Once you’re at the show, it’s very low key and people seem very receptive to that.”
Devore participated in his first Culture of Cult series at this years show. He created work related to the A24 film “Hereditary.”
“The pieces were so wildly different, from not only the medium but the interpretation of them. It’s really interesting to see what the artists connect to out of the iconic characters and scenes,” Forester said.
For more information about the Culture of Cult series, visit their website cultureofcult.com. For more information on the upcoming final series, follow @cultureofcult on Instagram and/or Facebook.
