15
Oct
2002
People who attend MidCoast Fine Arts' ninth-annual Great Mask Auction are used to people in strange outfits and wild hair - usually elements of attendees' costumes.
But at this year's event on Saturday, October 19, Storm Design Team will feature avant-garde fashion and hairstyles in its runway show, a new addition to the MidCoast fundraiser. Put another way, the art is going to be a lot more animated this year.
"We're definitely going to make a statement," said Roni Roehlk, one of Storm's artistic directors.
"I think we're going to blow them away," said Heath Morgan, Storm's co-owner and artistic director. "We're going to make it not just sexy but as sexual as we can. I want this to be as close to the Playboy channel without offending anybody."
Dean Schroeder, executive director of MidCoast Fine Arts saw a run-through of the stage show this past weekend and was impressed. "They're going over the top with this," he said.
Of course, the focus of the Great Mask Auction will be the 50 mask-themed works by local artists. Comedy Sportz's Jeff Adamson will once again serve as auctioneer. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to MidCoast, while money from the auction goes directly to the artists. Schroeder said the auction typically generates $10,000 for artists over the course of three hours, but about 55 percent donate money back to MidCoast. The fundraiser nets the organization about $7,000 a year, Schroeder said.
Schroeder also promises even better food this year, donated in part by the Blue Cat Brew Pub. New this year will be waiters and waitresses delivering food. The party begins at 6 p.m. with an auction preview and other fun, and there will also be a costume contest at the halfway point of the auction.
But the freshest element will be the 7 p.m. runway fashion show before the auction, and it should be something to see, a first-of-its-kind event in the Quad Cities, and something that will push the envelope in a community not known for its cutting-edge style.
The 16-minute show, choreographed to music, will feature 23 models and will use the talents of 12 Storm staff members. Preparation for the show will run from 10 a.m. to curtain.
The show will be narrative and divided into three sections. Models will start with trendy hair and clothes (from Wet Seal). The second segment will be a little naughtier, with lingerie from Fredericks of Hollywood. "We're making stuff out of Plexiglas," Morgan said, as well as see-through clothing. The show will end with a "vampire" segment featuring avant-garde hair and clothing from Hot Topic. Storm artists will be styling hair during the second and third segments.
"It's going to be a lot for people to look at," Morgan said.
This will be a sort of coming-out party for Storm, an opportunity "to show our community what we're about in this area," Morgan said.
"It's a really big deal," Roehlk said.
Other public runway shows are planned for other venues in the Quad Cities, including a more conservative style show as part of Quad City Arts' Festival of Trees. "The fashions will be very classic," Morgan said, and the models will be dancers with Ballet Quad Cities. Both artistic directors said they hope to do more public fashion shows next year, and they're already talking about next year's Great Mask Auction.
Yet cutting-edge shows aren't anything new for Storm. Morgan and Roehlk have done demonstrations all around the Midwest and the country, from Detroit to Las Vegas. Most of the shows are for hairdressers and give the stylists a chance to show what they've learned during their international training. (Morgan is also winner of the L'Oreal 2002 color trophy for North America.)
But the Great Mask Auction affords them a unique opportunity. "We want to do more runway and avant-garde," Roehlk said, as well as get the word about Storm out in their community.
"This is kind of how we break outside of our box," she said. "This is more our passion."
So why stay in the conservative Midwest, with the big cities calling? Morgan said that both he and Roehlk have children, and this region allows them to remain grounded but still indulge their cosmopolitan tastes - that "runway lifestyle," as Roehlk put it - when they feel like it.
But if you don't think hair design and high fashion are appropriate at an arts fundraiser, Roehlk disagrees. "This is our art," she said.
And the Quad Cities community is ready for it. "I think people want this," she said. "People will start catching on."
MidCoast Fine Arts' Great Mask Auction will be held Saturday, October 19, at The Villa, 2000 16th Avenue in Rock Island. Tickets are $20 advance and $25 at the door. For advance sales, call (309)732-1354. The event starts at 6 p.m. For more information, visit (http://www.midcoast.org)
"We're definitely going to make a statement," said Roni Roehlk, one of Storm's artistic directors.
"I think we're going to blow them away," said Heath Morgan, Storm's co-owner and artistic director. "We're going to make it not just sexy but as sexual as we can. I want this to be as close to the Playboy channel without offending anybody."
Dean Schroeder, executive director of MidCoast Fine Arts saw a run-through of the stage show this past weekend and was impressed. "They're going over the top with this," he said.
Of course, the focus of the Great Mask Auction will be the 50 mask-themed works by local artists. Comedy Sportz's Jeff Adamson will once again serve as auctioneer. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to MidCoast, while money from the auction goes directly to the artists. Schroeder said the auction typically generates $10,000 for artists over the course of three hours, but about 55 percent donate money back to MidCoast. The fundraiser nets the organization about $7,000 a year, Schroeder said.
Schroeder also promises even better food this year, donated in part by the Blue Cat Brew Pub. New this year will be waiters and waitresses delivering food. The party begins at 6 p.m. with an auction preview and other fun, and there will also be a costume contest at the halfway point of the auction.
But the freshest element will be the 7 p.m. runway fashion show before the auction, and it should be something to see, a first-of-its-kind event in the Quad Cities, and something that will push the envelope in a community not known for its cutting-edge style.
The 16-minute show, choreographed to music, will feature 23 models and will use the talents of 12 Storm staff members. Preparation for the show will run from 10 a.m. to curtain.
The show will be narrative and divided into three sections. Models will start with trendy hair and clothes (from Wet Seal). The second segment will be a little naughtier, with lingerie from Fredericks of Hollywood. "We're making stuff out of Plexiglas," Morgan said, as well as see-through clothing. The show will end with a "vampire" segment featuring avant-garde hair and clothing from Hot Topic. Storm artists will be styling hair during the second and third segments.
"It's going to be a lot for people to look at," Morgan said.
This will be a sort of coming-out party for Storm, an opportunity "to show our community what we're about in this area," Morgan said.
"It's a really big deal," Roehlk said.
Other public runway shows are planned for other venues in the Quad Cities, including a more conservative style show as part of Quad City Arts' Festival of Trees. "The fashions will be very classic," Morgan said, and the models will be dancers with Ballet Quad Cities. Both artistic directors said they hope to do more public fashion shows next year, and they're already talking about next year's Great Mask Auction.
Yet cutting-edge shows aren't anything new for Storm. Morgan and Roehlk have done demonstrations all around the Midwest and the country, from Detroit to Las Vegas. Most of the shows are for hairdressers and give the stylists a chance to show what they've learned during their international training. (Morgan is also winner of the L'Oreal 2002 color trophy for North America.)
But the Great Mask Auction affords them a unique opportunity. "We want to do more runway and avant-garde," Roehlk said, as well as get the word about Storm out in their community.
"This is kind of how we break outside of our box," she said. "This is more our passion."
So why stay in the conservative Midwest, with the big cities calling? Morgan said that both he and Roehlk have children, and this region allows them to remain grounded but still indulge their cosmopolitan tastes - that "runway lifestyle," as Roehlk put it - when they feel like it.
But if you don't think hair design and high fashion are appropriate at an arts fundraiser, Roehlk disagrees. "This is our art," she said.
And the Quad Cities community is ready for it. "I think people want this," she said. "People will start catching on."
MidCoast Fine Arts' Great Mask Auction will be held Saturday, October 19, at The Villa, 2000 16th Avenue in Rock Island. Tickets are $20 advance and $25 at the door. For advance sales, call (309)732-1354. The event starts at 6 p.m. For more information, visit (http://www.midcoast.org)
