Keen Halloween is an expression of art for the holiday. Photo courtesy of Daniel Davis.Are you sick of seeing the same old cheaply made Halloween costumes and props at the stores?
Your choices are ever-predictable. Whatever movie was a blockbuster over the past 24 months, a costume of the protagonist will be there. You have your Freddys, Jasons, Batmen, Spidermen, clichéd stereotypical hippies, mobsters and other random characters.
And for the young ladies, a quote from the movie “Mean Girls” explains your choices best: “In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.”
Daniel Davis is sick of the corporate, creativity-draining costumes and decor that dominate the Halloween market. That is why he and his wife, the founders of art studio Steam Crow, are holding Keen Halloween Saturday Sept. 29.
Art Murmur got a chance to talk to the monster mastermind:
Art Murmur: What made you decide to bring Keen Halloween to life?
Daniel Davis: We love Halloween, but we don't love gore. It seemed like most of the events were either geared towards little kids or just adults, with nothing in between. We love old-timey Halloween, where you make your own costumes, have parties and make cool, creative monster stuff.
AM: In your interview with Ethan Georgi, I really like how you said that "plastic junk" and "booty-call" character costumes for little girls have been dominant in the Halloween market. Why do you think people have conformed to such low quality costumes & decor instead of being more creative?
DD: I guess it might be because so many of us are so harried for time. There's not enough time in the day to get everything done, there are long commutes, and life is dang busy.
That said, Halloween is the most creative holiday around. You can make really cool, unique stuff. You don't have to buy generic corporate character costumes-- you can make up something that defines you.
I don't hate booty-call costumes, but it's sad when that's the only choice.
AM: What can we expect at this year’s Keen Halloween? What do you think would be of particular interest to the ASU community?
DD: Cool, unique local vendors who make spooky jewelry, art, books, aprons, decorations-- stuff that you just can't find at Walmart, workshops on how to make your Halloween better-- Stylish Zombies 101, how to make a poison apple crate, how to host a Halloween dinner party.
We'll have entertainment like the Dr. Diabolic Show, a Monster Abduction is REAL seminar with a "real life" Monsterologist, and the IRON SKULL Costume Challenge-- where three teams have to create a costume in just 45 minutes-- live on stage. That's going to be a lot of fun!
Later, we'll have a couple of cool bands playing: Ethan 103 and the Haymarket Squares.
I think that all of the costuming that we're having would be a pretty big draw. We'll have costuming experts behind our Evil Genius Costume Bar to help you get ideas for your costume.
The vendors are super cool, and the bands will be a lot of fun. If you hate Halloween, don't come!
Keen Halloween will be held at the New School for the Arts and Academics in Tempe from 11a.m. to 10 p.m. Advance tickets are $7, tickets are $10 at the door. Kids 12 and under are let in for free.
You can like Keen Halloween on Facebook and tweet Steam Crow here.
Do you know of any interesting art or entertainment you’d like me to cover? Tweet me at @DamianoAlec or email me at Alec.Damiano@asu.edu. To see some of my artwork, click here.
