September 9, 2024
The Museum Of Ventura County (MVC) Presents A Chilling New Exhibition, The Curse Of The Vampire: Tales From The Book Of Nosferatu, September 19 – November 17, 2024
These three artists have created a spine-tingling, comic-like experience that will thrill anyone fascinated by Dracula and occult storytelling. Don’t miss it! You’ll be scared, amazed, and completely immersed in a world where imagination meets the supernatural!
MVC Chief Curator, Carlos Ortega
Ventura County – The Curse of The Vampire: Tales from The Book of Nosferatu is a collaborative exhibition that features seventeen George Stuart Historical Figures© enhanced by blown up retro comic book style illustrations created by artists, Paula Pugh and Weshoyot Alvitre.
The exhibition brings a fictional story to life, chronicling the rise and fall of a vampire dynasty from Vlad the Impaler (the first alleged vampire) to Dracula to Alexander Cepesi (one of the last vampires). The story unfolds through illustrations created by Pugh and Alvitre in a retro comic book style.
George Stuart’s Historical Figures are two feet tall sculptures created using a wire armature, clay tape for bone and muscle structure, felt skin, and Icelandic sheepskin for hair. Among his creations are Nosferatu and Dracula-inspired figures, which explore Eastern European vampire legends. The retro comic book style drawings perfectly complement Stuart’s gruesomely detailed sculptures, originally created by Stuart for a live stage performance in 1981.
About the artists:
George Stuart
George Stuart is a distinguished historian and sculptor, best known for his quarter-life-sized (18-24 inches) Historical Figures, which depict famous personalities from history. He studied fine arts at the University of California and combined his passion for art and history to create over 300 figures, all housed at the Museum of Ventura County. His works are celebrated for their meticulous attention to detail and historical accuracy
Paula Pugh
Paula Pugh grew up and lives in Ojai, CA. She has been drawing since she was very young. Her artistic style draws upon the imagery of the cartoons, films and video games of her youth. Her professional art education comes from a variety of classes, college art courses as well as other online resources. Her connection to the Museum of Ventura County began when she was an assistant in the Museum’s Chumash Youth Summer Camp programs, teaching kids a variety of arts and crafts skills. Paula’s taste for the weird and spooky is sometimes reflected in her political comics that she draws for the Ojai Valley News.
Weshoyot Alvitre
Weshoyot Alvitre is a Tongva/Scottish comic book artist, writer, and illustrator with over 15 years of experience. Raised with traditional Tongva tribal knowledge in the Santa Monica Mountains, her work focuses on historical material and contemporary issues, often using pop culture, sci-fi, and archival research to spark conversations and reframe narratives. Her artwork has been featured in anthologies like Moonshot Volumes 2 and 3, and Deerwoman: An Anthology. She has also received awards for her children’s book illustrations. Alvitre’s current projects, including Toypurina: Our Lady of Sorrows and Lone, focus on retelling stories from her own tribal community using historical facts, primary accounts, and traditional knowledge.