It’s almost unanimously accepted that the world is something of a scary place to live in at the moment. We have an extensive bunch of things to be wary of, from heartless dictators to toxic domestic partners to mass shooters. Take one look at the daily news cycle and you’re likely to walk away thinking the planet is full of monsters. Small wonder then that so many of us instinctively gravitate towards made-up monsters, ranging from inhuman fantastical creatures to creepy but cool figures we knew as kids. The point here is that these provide a much-needed escape from reality, in the form of a breakout into exciting realms promising mythic misadventure. Monster love caters to nostalgia as well as reliving the fascination and fear felt during childhood, while being about imagination and creativity. Few places stay as faithful to such ideas as Monsterpalooza, which is set to take place this weekend at Pasadena Convention Center.
Creator Elliot Brodsky says this festival is the most focused one for fiendish creations, and holds movie magic as the point of emphasis while delving into the art that is monster-making. It all started off in 2009 when the NY-based event promoter introduced into the LA scene his idea for gathering artists and special effects creators. This came after a 2008 trial event in NY named Maskapalooza. Monsterpalooza has kept on growing, despite COVID-19 stunting things in the past couple of years.
This year’s event has garnered high anticipation among would-be attendees, especially since the world is now learning to deal with the virus in various ways, and due to vaccinations rendering con events safer to some extent. Monsterpalooza is set to once more attract professionals and fans in makeup, film, special effects, art, and collectible toys, alongside award-winning creators showing off and explaining their work.
“Monsterpalooza has provided us with countless opportunities to network with the world’s leading monster makers as well as recruit many of them to teach video courses for us,” says Matt Winston. “Since [the school] is 100% online, Monsterpalooza has also given us a chance to meet prospective students and connect in person with our current students and alumni from all around the globe. There’s simply no other convention that gathers such a huge variety of monster makers and fans in one place, to share their love of all things that go bump in the night,” he adds.
Before starting a career as an event producer, Bordsky had noticed that he had a passion for monstrous art as a creator. It was evident in that he made and traded collectable busts which featured classic horror as well as 70’s film characters. He shares that he had a following of sorts, even though he did only limited busts for collectors. “That forged relationships due to the internet, with the artists who were actually working in film giving me little pointers if I’d had questions. Then there was about four or five years of revisiting and investigating things I was interested in as a kid. It inspired me to do a show.”
What started off as a niche event held at the Burbank Marriott quickly grew into an exhibition which eventually moved into the Pasadena Convention Center, later spawning a smaller event named Son of Monsterpalooza. Brodsky recalls that the move to Pasadena was probably in his eighth year. “We went from a 40,000 square foot venue, up to 85,000 square foot venue, doubled our exhibitors, and tripled the size of the museum,” he adds.
At the Monsterpalooza museum you’ll get to see full-sized and hyper-realistic sculptures in their big-screen form, aside from props and animatronics that is. “People walk through, there’s music, and a real ambience to it. People even line up to get in there and it’s sort of like one of the staple attractions.” The place even includes a theater where presentations and panels are held. These celebrate actors, artists, and directors, next to celeb guests from shows and movies under the sci-fi, fantasy, and slasher genres. The event also has vendors trading in unique merchandise ranging from clothing to décor, in case you’re simply there for the aesthetics and not celebrity-spotting.
Patrick Magee, of the company Magee Fx Inc, which is famous for creature and character design, animatronics, prosthetic application, etc., says, “Monsterpalooza has introduced me to a handful of collectors, producers, manufacturers, fans, and even a few artists I’ve hired over the years. There isn’t anything quite like it around. It’s got such a wide variety of artists, vendors and events. From amazing life-size fine art pieces to t-shirts and toys to obscure horror film memorabilia. Even as a vendor, I look forward to seeing who brings what each year. ”
