“Almost all institutions own a lot more art than they can ever show, much of it revealing for its timeliness, genius, or sheer weirdness.”
– Jerry Saltz
Marvelously peculiar! Our famed free Halloween Festival attracts too many creators and curators of oddities for us not to invite them to come spend a lovely Faire-weekend with us! See and enjoy fascinating things! Bring your own as we recapitulate our famed Oddities Show & Tell!
What is an ‘oddity’?
An object oddity refers to an item or an artifact that is peculiar, unusual, or stands out due to its uniqueness, rarity, or the bizarre nature of its design, function, or origin. These could include:
- Antiques or collectibles with strange or inexplicable features, like a clock that uses an unconventional mechanism or a piece of furniture with an odd shape or purpose.
- Curios from different cultures or historical periods, which might not make sense to modern observers, like ancient tools or decorative items intended for rituals or practices no longer common.
- Modern art pieces that challenge conventional aesthetics or functionality, such as sculptures made from unconventional materials or items that serve no practical purpose beyond sparking curiosity or conversation.
- Natural specimens that are anomalies, like oddly shaped fossils, minerals with unusual colorations, or preserved specimens of bizarre creatures.
Object oddities often find homes in curiosity cabinets, museums, or private collections where the fascination lies in their deviation from the norm, their story, or the questions they provoke about human ingenuity, nature’s diversity, or historical context.
What is an Oddity Show and Tell?
In the Oddity Show and Tell, our attendees, merchants, and friends are cordially invited to bring their favorite oddities and show off the delightful peculiarities they’ve collected, found, haggled over, inherited, made, or otherwise acquired.
All are most cordially invited to bring their peculiarities and enjoy their offbeat strangeness with us!
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