« October 2009 | Main | December 2009 »
Ruth Marten "Native Girl" 2007
My email box has been snowed under, which is why I sometimes discover notices of wonderful shows a bit too late! But Ruth Marten's work is so fantastic, I do hope you'll get to her current show "Side-Saddle" up at Hosfelt Gallery in San Francisco before it closes on the 5th. Her embellished engravings are deliciously sneaky and surreal.
Phantasmaphile pal Charles Vincent just updated his site, and I highly encourage you to take a gander. Vincent is a master painter of winged beings and architectural elements, and the combination of the two is captivating. It's refreshing to see angels being portrayed in such a contemporary style, and the overall effect is uncanny and moving at once.
I just finished reading the fascinating book, Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation
Perhaps surprisingly, Salem and its witches are not a primary focus here at all. In fact, Horowitz uncovers the beginnings of the so-called occult movement a bit south of there, in the "Burned-over District" of New York state, and then down into Philly area. From there, we're taken on a wild intellectual ride across the country and spanning decades. Highlights include an in-depth look at the Theosophy movement (and its subsequent influence on Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.); occult dabblings of various political figures including Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln, Vice President Henry A. Wallace, and Ronald Reagan; and the evolution of the Ouiji board from divinatory tool to pop sensation.
Besides being filled to the brim with interesting factoids and loads of well-researched anecdotes (including plenty of primary source excerpts), the book is a lively and accessible account of the history of such important American tenants as religious tolerance and positive thinking. It's amazing to think that today's societal ideals such as equality and personal development are offshoots of the beliefs of various mystical subcultures and alternative thought leaders, but Horowitz's arguments are entirely convincing.
I can't recommend Occult America
***As an added bonus, I'm delighted to announce that Mitch Horowitz will be speaking at OBSERVATORY on December 4th at 8pm. More info can be found here.
Laurie Lipton "The Winged Hermaphrodite"
Do you want to hear something face-meltingly cool? OK, I'll tell you. Many moons ago, pencil prodigy Laurie Lipton was commissioned by Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica to do a series of drawings based on legendary alchemical works, such as "Splendor Solis" and "Atalanta Fugiens." And you can view them all online under the "commissions" section of her awesome site. Glorious.
Maximilla Lukacs from "The Siren's Song" 2009
I've written about Maximilla Lukacs before, in the context of the heavenly short films she makes with her artistic partner Sarah Sophie Flicker under the moniker "The Belles of the Black Diamond Field." Lukacs just launched her own personal site, and it is chock full of marvels, including her photography, films, and drawings. Be sure to check out this treasure trove, replete as it is with opulent costumes, gauzy glitter, and candlelit magic. She obviously shares my love of Czech new wave films and occult history. Perhaps one day, she'll make a music video for one of my songs. A gal can dream can't she?
Olivia Hill "If Monkeys Won't Let You Be, Lead Them in a Chorus Line" 2009
The immensely gifted Olivia Hill currently has a show up at LeMieux Galleries in New Orleans called "Square Roots." It pains me that I won't get to see her imaginative and clever work in person, so if you are in the area, please be sure to go on my behalf. The show is up until the 28th of November.
Thanks so much to the bunches of you who have emailed to tell me about this incredible sounding show: "Angels of Anarchy: Women Artists and Surrealism" up now at Manchester Art Gallery:
Angels of Anarchy is the first major exhibition in Europe to explore the crucial role that women artists played in the surrealist art movement.
The exhibition features over 150 artworks, including paintings, photography, sculpture and surreal objects, created by three generations of artists from around the globe.
The 32 artists are some of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century, including Frida Kahlo, Lee Miller, Meret Oppenheim and Leonora Carrington. These were radical, revolutionary women whose work still inspires, and sometimes shocks, today.
It's up until January 10th, so here's hoping I will be able to take a trip to the UK by then. Luckily, there is also a beautiful book
Herbert Pfostl "the fish in the water will move through your head" 2009
Phantasmaphile pal and OBSERVATORY cohort, Herbert Pfostl, has a new show opening at our space on Saturday, November 21st at 7pm:
herbert pfostl
ALL SORTS OF REMEDIESOpening: Saturday, November 21st at 7:00pm
Exhibition: November 21, 2009 – January 8, 2010
Gallery Hours:Thursday and Friday 3-6pm
Saturday and Sunday 12-6pm
(enter through Proteus Gowanus gallery)
Small paintings as parables of plants and animals and old stories of black robbers and white stags. Fragments on death like mirrors from a black sleep in the forests of fairy tales. All stories from the dust of the dead in fragments and footnotes like melodies of heartbreak and north and night and exploration–breakdowns. About saints with no promise of heaven and lost sailors forgotten and the terribly lonely bears. The unknown, the ugly – and the odd. Collected grand mistakes, noble errors from many sources. Sinking signals - conscious or not – sonatas and last letters and great insults. The impossible tears in landscapes of ocean or stranded whales. A going far back to coals and cruelties and sobbing like songs in whiskey and blood. Of soldiers’ last letters and all seven seas. With pirates and wars and prayers in holes in the ground. Of fallen women and orphaned children and drowned slaves and burned saints.
Herbert Pfostl is the author of Blind Pony Books and the Paper Graveyard, and is the buyer for the bookstore at New York’s New Museum.
It is going to be dark and singed and beautiful, no doubt. Please be sure to come by.
Scott Gursky "The Medium"
Scott Gursky is a phenomenally talented illustrator, who was brought to my attention by another phenomenally talented illustrator, Joe Newton. And by the looks of Gursky's occultoriffic site design, it seems he's got one foot planted in the invisible world, just the way I like it. I would definitely like to see more from this fellow, so here's hoping he'll add more to his magic square of images soon.
MooNyk "Be the Bear" 2009
I don't know much about the artist who calls herself MooNyk, other than the fact that she is totally brilliant. The piece above is definitely of the "you must click on this to see it bigger" variety, so please do so. Her detailing is as exquisite as her imagination is vast.
Max Bucaille "L'antre du magicien (The Magician's Cave)" 1948
Ubu Gallery has a splendid sounding show up now called "Metamorphus Victorianus: Modern Collage, Victorian Engravings, and Nostalgia." Long-time readers of Phantasmaphile know I'm a sucker for oneiric collage, particularly with engravings a la Max Ernst's Une Semaine De Bonte
(Thank you yet again, Samantha!)
Juul Kraijer 2004
I have been drawing human-headed serpents since I was a kid for some reason (perhaps unconsciously tapping into nascent kundalini energy?) so I'm always attracted to this creature. I believe that in Indian mythology, it is called a naga. But I digress. Juul Kraijer's charcoal drawing above is one of the loveliest depictions I've encountered. All of her work, for that matter, is exceptional. Deceptively simple looking, yet with such powerful ideas and expert rendering.
John Coulthart "Who Stole the Tarts?" 2009
I can't believe it's already November, can you? Time to start shopping for an awesome new calendar for 2010. Phantasmaphile pal John Coulthart has designed a gorgeous one called Psychedelic Wonderland, and you can buy it here. May it bring you a wildly colorful, curious, wonder-filled year ahead.
from the "Victorian Blood Book"
My pal and Observatory cohort, Dylan, recently brought my attention to the astounding "Victorian Blood Book." It was part of Evelyn Waugh's private collection, and is a large book filled with collages and embellished with scrawled commentary and blood drops made of India ink. It was presumably created by a Victorian businessman, John Bingley Garland, and seems to be at once a work of art and a strange visual treatise on religion and spirituality. Do watch the slide show, it is not to be missed.
Remedios Varo "The Calling" 1961
I've been so busy juggling the various spheres of my life recently that I managed to miss this blog's 4 year anniversary on October 29th. Last year, I celebrated by sharing a painting by my personal patron saint, Remedios Varo. I decided to make it a tradition, since her work has such profound meaning for me, and crystallizes so much of my intention for this site -- and for my life in general.
I thought this piece in particular was an apt visual summary of my experience with Phantasmaphile over this past year. During these last 12 months in particular, this blog has been a true conduit for so many exciting developments for me: curating my first art show, starting an amazing arts and events space with kindred spirits here in Brooklyn, and meeting so many marvelous, new friends. I've learned to be much more trusting and open to whatever adventures Phantasmaphile brings my way.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart, dearest reader, for coming along on the journey. And I'm looking very much forward to seeing what this next year will bring.
Recent Comments