In 1971, Ron Sweed took up the lab coat and fake beard of the absurdist late-night horror host Ernie Anderson’s Ghoulardi, becoming the Ghoul. Sweed would put his own scorched mark on B-movie night, blowing up action figures and tormenting a rubber Froggy during between-commercials sketches.
Chicago-based graphic and tattoo artist Mitch O’Connell grew up outside Ann Arbor, Michigan, but followed the witching-hour antics of Cleveland’s chief creep when the show played in syndication. Now, in collaboration with Cleveland Height’s Kollective Gallery, O’Connell and other Midwest artists influenced/ruined by Sweed pay tribute to his persona in Ghoul Power, a group exhibit of painting and sculpture with a year-round Halloween vibe.
