There's lots of variety between the 80 individual art pieces on display at Medicine Hat College. Kevin Kyle/CHAT News

By Jayk Sterkenburg, Eli J. Ridder

ARTS

Horror stop-motion, eerie sculptures: Medicine Hat College students organize Halloween art exhibit

Oct 30, 2024 | 2:16 PM

A frozen heart on ice, horror stop-motion shorts, eerie sculptures and more make up a Halloween-themed art show at Medicine Hat College that provides an opportunity for students to show off their work.

The annual show — dubbed “Lock Your Doors” for this year — is organized by the Visual Arts Student Society, made up of second-year art and design students.

For society president Tanner Penner, having his art on display has been a goal for him since his first year.

“It’s a really important thing as a student to take hold of those opportunities when you have them, it’s very rare,” he told CHAT News from inside the art gallery on Tuesday.

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“The art world is really competitive out there. So it’s awesome to have a space like this where we can share every individual’s work.”

The art exhibit is open to the public for free from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

It’s one of the largest student displays the gallery has held and, with a lot of variety between the 80 individual pieces, visitors will find something new to appreciate in return trips, Penner said.

Tanner Penner says he started planning for the show during the summer break. Kevin Kyle/CHAT News

“Even if you come see the same show three different times, you’ll see different things every time you come,” he added.

Another student organizer, Ethan Baker created off-the-wall clay sculptures that, for him, represent “chaos, serenity, and creation.”

“Every horror movie inspires me for these types of things,” Baker said.

“I love making stuff in terms of horror and stuff like that, and making it look as creepy as possible without it being too in-depth is always fun.”

Gage Cockerill created a toothy-grinned mask that visitors can find in the gallery.

“I called it the ‘pumpkin demon’, which was really original,” Cockerill quipped.

“But the process was that everything was sculpted out of clay initially, and then we did a plaster cast over that and then everything is liquid plastic.”

Gage says that a creative assignment is generally easier to undertake when a specific theme is applied, as the limitless potentials of artistic ideas are graciously narrowed to fit a certain topic.

“(You) kind of get ideas from other people, because, I mean, artist’s block is a very big thing when you got kind of the freedom to make whatever you want. So if you kind of got an avenue to go through, it’s helpful.”