Tag Archives: monsters

Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Pennywise’s Nightmarish Clown Costume From It

Leave a comment

bill skarsgard as pennywise the clown photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

Few movie costumes are as unsettling as the one worn by Pennywise, the sinister clown portrayed by Bill Skarsgård in the 2017 horror film It. On display at the Hollywood Museum, this original costume is a fascinating example of how fashion design can help bring a character’s disturbing personality to life.

Designed by Janie Bryant, known for her work on Mad Men and Deadwood, the outfit deliberately avoids the familiar look of a brightly colored circus clown. Instead, Bryant drew inspiration from Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan and Victorian clothing to give Pennywise the appearance of a being from another time.
Continue reading Eye On Design: Pennywise’s Nightmarish Clown Costume From It →

Arts and Culture

Get Ready to Scream: The Academy Museum Goes All-In on Horror

Leave a comment

academy museum horror show exhibit photo by emily shur
Photo By Emily Shur Courtesy of the Academy Museum

Just in time for Halloween, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is getting seriously spooky with two new exhibitions exploring the movies, monsters, and movie magic behind one of cinema’s most enduring genres.

Opening September 26, 2026, The Horror Show takes visitors on an immersive journey through horror’s many forms, from Gothic castles and psychological terror to science fiction, slashers, religion, and ghosts. The exhibition begins with a sound installation before leading visitors down “The Hallway”— a setting familiar to anyone who has ever watched a horror movie and thought, I definitely should not go down there.
Continue reading Get Ready to Scream: The Academy Museum Goes All-In on Horror →

Arts and Culture

Modern Art Monday Presents: Knight Horrors by Aaron Bohrod

Leave a comment

knight horrors by aaron bohrod photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

Knight Horrors looks like some sort of surreal still life extracted from  a child’s  fever dream — and the longer you look, the stranger it gets.  A tiny armored knight on horseback  occupies the center of the scene, surrounded by an outrageous assortment of creatures and characters: a grinning finger puppet-style monster perched on the helmet of a Roman soldier, a grimacing gremlin, a colorful parrot, a rat, a flamingo, a skull and assorted other fantastical beings. It’s part cabinet of curiosities, part nightmare, and part seriously weird family portrait.

Painted in 1985 by American artist Aaron Bohrod, Knight Horrors is an oil painting on gesso panel measuring just 12 by 16 inches. The title itself seems to contain a little visual joke: Knight Horrors sounds suspiciously like “night terrors,” which makes the painting feel like a parade of creatures that have escaped from somebody’s particularly bizarre dream. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Knight Horrors by Aaron Bohrod →

Arts and Culture

Eye On Design: HR Giger’s Necronom 2005 (Alien 3 Model)

Leave a comment

giger alien model 1 at new museum photo by gail worley
All Photos By Gail 

In France in 1975, screenwriter Dan O’Bannon was collaborating with Director Alejandro Jodorowsky  on an adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s 1965 novel, Dune, when he met the artist HR Giger. Jodorowsky had been introduced to Giger’s work by Salvador Dali, and had brought him on to create designs for the film.

While the feature ultimately fell through, O’Bannon couldn’t get Giger’s drawings out of his head. The screenwriter recalled “ending up writing a script about a Giger monster,” which would eventually become the influential franchise Alien.
Continue reading Eye On Design: HR Giger’s Necronom 2005 (Alien 3 Model) →

Arts and Culture

Monster Faces Mural By Phetus in Freeman Alley

Leave a comment

monster faces mural by phetus photo by gail worley
All Photos By Gail

In the heart of New York City’s vibrant Lower East Side, Freeman Alley has once again served as a canvas for the prolific street artist Phetus. This latest mural, first spotted by me on a Sunday morning in mid-October, bursts with a riot of color and quirky charm, showcasing rows of tightly stacked faces. Each one is an exaggerated, monster-like character — signature Phetus style —wildly expressive and almost cartoonish in their otherworldly features.

Continue reading Monster Faces Mural By Phetus in Freeman Alley →