An auction event may or may not require black-tie attire, but either way, it's OK to leave your "best behavior" at home.

According to Liz Gans, director of the Holter Museum of Art, an auction is a chance for bidders to get in touch with their competitive sides -- and for everybody else to enthusiastically -- and vocally -- egg them on.

The Holter Museum's 15th annual Art Auction is set for Saturday, June 28. Along with a new exhibition of ceramics by Kurt Weiser, "Eden Revisited," the Art Auction Exhibition opens Friday, June 6, with a reception from 6-8 p.m.

Auctioneer Troy Black is intimately familiar with the kind of outbursts a good auction inspires. He's seen husbands and wives seated at the same table get into bidding wars and once had a woman stand up on a table and start jumping up and down after winning a particular item.

"It's a happening," said Black, who has auctioned everything from pot bellied pigs to vasectomies all the way to Charlie Russell paintings worth several million dollars. "People come to an auction to be part of an event."

With his baritone voice, old-fashioned manners and a name that makes him sound more like a country singer than a businessman, Black comes across like a sort of auction cowboy.

"I like the thrill, the excitement, the frenzy of an audience," said Black, who compares getting ready for an auction to a rock star warming up for a big show. "We as auctioneers are entertainers."

Black has been bid calling since 1990, when he joined his uncle at the helm of the family business, Black and Associates. A good auctioneer, he says, should be crisp and clear, and have a nice, pleasant demeanor.

"If your buyers can't understand you, they won't bid to you," said Black, adding, "We want our patrons to have fun."

Holter Museum of Art director Liz Gans says this year's auction has the potential to be bigger than ever.

The museum has decided to put Taste of Spring and its annual car raffle on hold to focus on the Art Auction and Ho Ho Holter.

"It gives us more time to do a better job with the (fundraisers) we're doing," said Gans.

According to Gans, the latter two events are more closely aligned with the museum's mission statement because they support artists in the process.

The summer date for the Art Auction is only one of several ways in which the event is changing. The museum has also decided to move the final auction event to the Great Northern Town Center in order to accomodate a larger crowd.

Gans said even those who can't afford to bid are encouraged to attend and enjoy the show.

"There's a great chemisttry to an auction," said Gans. "You work hard to have those elements there."

The evening affair includes dinner catered by the Silver Star Steakhouse. Prior to the live auction, a silent auction will feature six pieces of jewelry made by local artists and six overnight and weekend "Explore Montana" packages. For the live auction, proxy bidding is available.

The Art Auction Exhibition itself features high-quality work by mostly Montana artists, including Rudy Autio, Russell Chatham, Josh DeWeese, Nan Parsons and many more. The show features a wide variety of styles that will appeal to all tastes, but even lovers of abstract art will be surprised by some particularly gorgeous representational pieces.

"There's quite a few love songs to landscape in there," says Gans.