‘Haunted House' exhibit on display

Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of William Castle's classic B-horror flick "House on Haunted Hill," a movie in which five guests are invited to spend the night with a man and his wife in the house they share; a house full of secrets, deception and murder.

If they survive, they will each receive $10,000.

An artist and associate professor at the College of Southern Maryland's Prince Frederick campus Andrew Wodzianski has survived more than a night with the haunted house, producing the exhibition "House," and will treat five guests to his own form of reward as part of this month's gallery show, costume party and fundraiser at Flashpoint Gallery in Washington, D.C.

"I want to mimic the complexity of guest manipulation that is depicted in the film," Wodzianski said in a press release.

"Art lovers being pulled through the city looking for riches. It is going to be a deathly fun party."

Wodzianski has been an associate professor at CSM since 2005. He believes art should encourage a conversation with its audience, and often incorporates interactivity into his exhibits, according to a press release.

For the exhibit, Wodzianski spent months during the film's anniversary year exploring its underlying tones, portrayed through its interior sets and props.

His efforts resulted in 13 pieces of artwork, 11 of which are paintings which depict the movie's sets and props and which will be on exhibit at Flashpoint Gallery through Nov. 7.

"I had wanted to do some work based on old film stock but I didn't know how I wanted to handle it." Wodzianski said in the release.

As part of the opening reception for his Flashpoint Gallery solo "House," he mirrored the actions of the film's star Vincent Price and invited the public to spend the evening in the gallery, participating in a possibly sinister scavenger hunt.

Clues will come in the form of five riddles over three weeks.

Solved clues will lead the scavengers to five secret physical locations; the first person to arrive at each location will receive an invitation to attend Flashpoint Gallery's fundraising costume party and a special Halloween after-party Oct. 30.

For more information, go to www.wodzianski.com.