The Art History Club hosted its first event of the semester in celebration of the Halloween season. On Oct. 16, students gathered in The Space in the Ehinger Center to watch part of the Cartoon Network series “Over the Garden Wall” and make vintage-themed Halloween crafts.
The event created a cozy, relaxed and pleasant space for students, providing a nice break from the stress of midterm season and an opportunity to get in the festive spirit. With commentary from the president of the Art History Club, Maddy Koory (‘27), on the historical relevance of different parts of the series, like the setting, the clothes worn by the characters and the architecture seen in some episodes, this event also gave viewers a very informative perspective on the series, especially for those who had never watched it before. Koory encouraged discussion from others, asking how they felt about the series, why the historical setting might be vague and what opinions they had on the characters or the storylines.
After watching each segment, Koory highlighted a specific part of the episode that referenced an aspect of history, paired with a real-life comparison to the reference. These included historical and art historical photos that showed a Rococo-style ceiling, an early 1900s woman’s walking outfit and antique iron schoolhouse desks, to name a few. Each of these photos provided a special context to the references in the series, giving first-time and seasoned watchers alike a more nuanced frame of reference with which to view the series.
While watching and discussing the series, students busied themselves with making Halloween crafts and sipping from cups full of apple cider. They had the opportunity to express their creativity by painting wooden pumpkin cutouts, making a vintage-style Halloween paper garland, cutting out paper ghost decorations or using the assortment of colored paper, paint and craft supplies available to make their own unique creation.
The atmosphere of the room was cheerful throughout the event, and many students opted to stay past the end of the prepared clips of the series to finish their crafts or spend more time with friends. Everyone left satisfied, taking home some new festive decorations for their rooms and a new show to watch for the fall season.
To stay up to date on future events hosted by the Art History Club, follow @drewarthistoryclub on Instagram or on The Path under the name Art History and Museum Studies Club.
Skylar Anderson is a junior majoring in Art and minoring in Art History and Anthropology.
