Phantasmaphile

Samhain

Leonora Carrington  "The Ancestor" 1969

Blessed Samhain to you.

I had to cancel tomorrow's Samhain/All-Soul's Ritual Workshop at Observatory after all.  While Observatory is thankfully undamaged, the building's basement is filled with 6 feet of water, so we need to have that drained before we can safely turn the power back on.  It's a small price to pay considering how many others in NYC are struggling right now.  My heart goes out to them, and to this city I love so deeply.

In the meantime, the digital version of Sciences Occultes magazine is online today, and it is stunning.  My Samhain article is on page 102 (page 104 in the e-reader), and the rest of the issue is filled to bursting with witchy wonder.  I'm so honored to have been included.

I also made this mix of Samhain songs to get you in the mood.

May your holiday be full of sweet spirits, remembrance, and hope for a peaceful new year.

7 Years of Phantasmaphile

Remedios Varo "Exploracion de las fuentes del Rio Orinoco" 1959

Seven years ago today, I decided to try my hand at this then strange "new" medium.  I didn't know how long I'd keep it up, nor could I have predicted the many wonderful ways it would change and enrich my life.  This blog has brought me so many incredible friends and experiences -- and opportunities to take it from the digital to the material, via art shows I've curated, classes I've taught, lectures I've given, and articles I've been invited to write.  It's led me to become the Associate Editor of Abraxas Esoteric Journal, and led me to a few other projects which I'll be announcing here soon.  I'm excited to see what other adventures await.  And I'm so very grateful to you for showing up - both here on the blog and in person.  Thank you thank you THANK YOU.  It means the world to me to have your interest and support.

It feels strange to be typing this now, from my couch in Brooklyn on a Monday, as Hurricane Sandy swirls closer.  The wind is picking up, rain is coming down, and NYC has groaned to a stop.  Observatory, the arts and events space I co-founded, is in Zone A - an evacuation area that's threatening to have a massive flood, thanks to its proximity to the infamous Gowanus Canal.  Please send good thoughts that there won't be too much damage, and that our space will stay safe and dry.  I'm currently still planning on leading my Samhain/All-Soul's ritual workshop there on Thursday, but will certainly keep you posted if that has to be canceled.

In the meantime, I feel fortunate to be home today with my darlings, both human and feline, rather than across the country as originally planned.  Our fingers (and toes and eyelashes) are crossed, and our spirits are high.  May everyone else on the east coast be so lucky.

The Black Lodge show

Adam Putnam

'Tis the season for uncanny artwork, and The Black Lodge group show opening tomorrow at Interstate Projects definitely fits the bill.  Loosely inspired by the idea of The Black Lodge from Twin Peaks, the show explores transformation, inner journeying, and imaginal space.  It also features an impressive and eclectic bunch of artists, including Phantasmaphile fave, Jesse Bransford:

The Black Lodge

Organized by Tom Weinrich

October 26 - December 9, 2012

Opening reception Friday October 26, 6-9 pm

Interstate Projects is pleased to present The Black Lodge, an exhibition of work by nine artists. In the darker regions of the mythology in David Lynch’s seminal television series Twin Peaks, there exists a place referred to as the Black Lodge. It is a space of spiritual and psychological transformation. A surreal environment where visitors confront their doppelganger, lose their understanding of space and time, emerging as a pure being or staying trapped in a maze of red curtains, giants, and non-sequiturs.

Eschewing any direct references to its namesake, this exhibition examines Lynch’s representation of a vision quest, along with his portrayal of women and use of patterning and repetition as a base upon which to consider the art being made by nine very different artists. Articulated across a wide range of mediums; from darkly humorous video installations, poetic abstractions made with pencil or video, and deeply personal figurative paintings and photographs, the works gathered reflect on the varied experiences that can lead to a better understanding of life and death, and all that lies in between.

Participating Artists:

Jesse Bransford (b. 1972) is an artist who, among other projects, has been investigating the seven classical planets through an eight year long body of work that encompasses drawing, painting, and sculpture. He has exhibited widely, including The Hammer Museum, The Carnegie Museum of Art, Busan Biennale, Feature Inc., and Kevin Bruk Gallery among others.

Hayal Pozanti (b. 1983) is a native of Istanbul who received her MFA from Yale University in 2011. Her practice encompasses painting, sculpture, collage and digital animation. She has exhibited internationally, including New York, San Francisco, Istanbul and Berlin. Pozanti currently live and works in New York City.

Adam Putnam (b.1973) is an artist whose work has spanned across performance, photography, drawing and sculpture. It has been included in various exhibitions world wide, most notably the 2008 Whitney Biennial, the 2nd Moscow Biennial, the Busan Biennial (South Korea), Art Statements, P.S. 1 and The Astrup Fearnley Museum (Oslo). Curatorial projects have included an exhibition of Martin Wong entitled Everything Must Go at P.P.O.W. and Blow Both of Us at Participant Inc. Recent projects include a solo exhibition at Locust Projects (Miami).

Sara Ludy is a Vancouver based artist and musician whose work explores representations of virtual and real environments. Her work draws on a variety of formats including photography, video, 3D, animated gifs, sound, digital image making and live performance. Recent exhibitions include IRL at Western Front, Vancouver BC; Visual Rhythm at Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder CO; Dinca Vision Quest Chicago IL; BY_YOU_BY_ME_BY_WE at Twelve Around One, London UK; Video Violence at Kunsthaus Dresden, Dresden DE.

Michael Robinson (b.1981) is a film and video artist whose work explores the joys and dangers of mediated experience. His work has been shown internationally at a variety of festivals, galleries and museums, including The 2012 Whitney Biennial, The New York Film Festival, The Walker Art Center, REDCAT, and Greater New York: Cinema at MoMA PS1.

Caris Reid is an artist working in New York, who received her BFA from Boston University. She has shown her work internationally, as well as curated the exhibitions, “All That is Unseen” (February 2011) with co-curator Meg O’Rourke and “Autosuggestion” (September, 2010). In addition to painting, she is a Contributing Editor for the Arts and Culture publication “Dossier Journal”.

Maria Petschnig is a New York-based artist who works across medias including video, performance and installation. Major exhibitions include Performa 11, New York (2011); On Stellar Rays, New York (2011); Western Exhibitions, Chicago (2011); and MoMA P.S.1, New York (2010).

Lauren Seiden creates atmospheric work that explores the relationship between light, line, and dark ambiguity with attention to form, texture and surface. She lives and works in NYC, and in 2010 was awarded the "AOL Chuck Close 25 for 25" Grant. She has exhibited throughout the United States and Europe, including recent shows at Thierry Goldberg Gallery, Storefront Bushwick, McKenzie Fine Art, Nudashank in Baltimore, and Holly Johnson Gallery in Texas. Her work has been featured in Satellite Magazine, ArtSlant, Assembly Journal, Chicago Art Review, ArtInfo, and AOLArtists.com.

Joseph Jagos and Chris Puidokas are originally from Detroit, and are now New York based artists/musicians. They have previously collaborated on an installation at the Spring/Break Art show, performed with Three Teens Kill Four, and curated and performed at various exhibitions and events in New York.

Can't wait to check it out myself.

Janko Domsic

Janko Domsic

Outsider artist Janko Domsic is new to me, and I can't get enough of his ecstatic, symbol-laden ballpoint pen drawings.  Not much about him is known.  He was born in Croatia in 1915, and lived and worked in Paris until his death in 1983.  Manuel Anceau does a nice attempt at piecing together his life on the ABCD website here.  I discovered his work via Andrew Edlin Gallery's current exhibition, Collectors of Skies.  It's up through November 3rd, so be sure to pop in to take advatage of this rare opportunity to see one of Damsic's works in person, not mention the rest of the show:

Andrew Edlin Gallery is pleased to present Collectors of Skies, an exhibition curated by Valérie Rousseau and Barbara Safarova, featuring the works of 18 artists from different cultures, artistic backgrounds and eras – from Victor Hugo to Vik Muniz – and Sonja Braas, Henry Darger, Charles Dellschau, Janko Domsic, Chris Doyle, Guo Fengyi, Clay Ketter, Zdenek Kosek, Mole & Thomas, Dorothy Napangardi, Alain Paiement, Ann Pibal, Nicolas Reeves, Clémentine Ripoche, Achilles G. Rizzoli and Palmerino Sorgente. A 56 page catalogue with an essay by the curators accompanies the show.

The idea for the exhibition was inspired by the short story “The Collector of Skies,” by the French art critic and folklorist Champfleury (1820–1889), which recounts the observations of a man fixated on the movements of the sky. The show comprises two dozen works by artists who all question the mechanisms of perception, share exceptional powers of observation, play with the deceptiveness of images, and embrace their connection to the elements. To explore their common epistemological dimensions, three distinct and successive stages have been identified: First, the preliminary observational phase where the artists depict what is seen, where the sky serves as a thematic and dramatic element, like in Sonja Braas’ (1968, Germany) large-scale photographs of foreboding, primordial landscapes, where image belies the artist’s method of meticulously staging scenes in the studio.

In the second stage, the artists project themselves up in the air, a lift-off, a levitation, where the eye leaves the body and joins the show, like a bird looking downward, establishing a panoramic and topographical perspective. For example, the paintings of Dorothy Napangardi (c1950, Australia) refer to the dreaming stories of her ancestors, the Warlpiri women. Over dark monochromatic backgrounds, white dotted lines depict aspects of their migration and dances in the Tanami Desert, and symbolize a relationship with the topography , providing overhead views of salt lakes with their checkered designs of intersecting crystalline fissures.

And lastly, the ultimate stage, where works reflect the dissolution of the body in favor of the reign of the mind, forging a genealogy with the gods and celestial powers. Achilles G. Rizzoli (1896–1982, USA) explores the mystic fusion with the sacred skies in his Symbolization Drawing, in which he renders architectural portraits of family members, representing them as cathedrals and palaces reaching up towards heaven.

I hope to catch it myself.

Daniel Martin Diaz's "Soul of Science" monograph

Daniel Martin Diaz  "Allegory of Consciousness" 2012

Daniel Martin Diaz is working on an incredible-sounding monograph entitled "Soul of Science."  It will be, as he describes it, a "128-page art book that explores the mystery of science, nature, anatomy, consciousness, and the power of symbols..."  He's already reached his initial Kickstarter goal, but with 38 days to go, there's still plenty of time for you to donate, thus pre-ordering a copy of the book or procuring a number of other glorious treasures.  More info from Diaz here:

In the fall of 2011, I became immersed in scientific and philosophical theories. In particular, I was obsessed with scientific diagrams, which explain theories and properties though drawings. Although these rudimentary drawings were without any leanings towards aesthetics, I found then to be beautiful, though that is clearly not their intention. I was inspired to create my own interpretations of the concepts of consciousness and other theories on a scientific, philosophical, and spiritual level through a simplified means such as drawing. All of the projects I have created begin as drawings, which I feel have a beauty and intimacy that paintings cannot capture. The subtle lines that graphite creates and the quickness in which one can capture an idea makes this medium alluring.

My wife Paula and I felt that these completed works would be best presented together in a beautifully designed book and strongly believed that they should be accompanied by the writings of arts professionals and scientists from varying disciplines to offer their interpretations of the connection between science and art. I am deeply grateful to have such an esteemed group of scientists and writers who have committed to contributing to this book. You can see them in the contributor’s section below.

SHORT BIO
I’m an artist from Tucson, Arizona. I have exhibited my work in museums and galleries worldwide and have created artwork for clients such as PBS, Atlanic Records, and the multi-platinum bands POD and Good Charlotte, as well as three public art projects for the Phoenix Metro Light Rail. I have designed my last three art books and have been published in Rolling Stone Magazine, Spin Magazine, Juxtapoz Magazine, Low Rider Magazine, New American Paintings, The Huffington Post, and Raw Vision Magazine. My wife, Paula and I own Sacred Machine Museum and are the co-founders of the band Blind Divine. 

Truly can't wait to receive my copy!

Via.

Emmanuel Polanco

Emmanuel Polanco  "The Magician"

I'm digging Emmanuel Polanco's whole body of work, which includes drawings, collage, and graphic design for book and album covers.  He blends together vintage ephemera and modern elements in a truly striking way, and his series titles such as Les mélancoliques and Tarot de Marseille belie a deliciously dark sensibility.

Moon Goddess show

Tom Bagshaw  "Cassandra" 2012

I feel as though the Moon Goddess show at Modern Eden Gallery was made just for me.  The premise is fairly straightforward - 25 artists render their take on this celestial deity - but the roster is outstanding and includes such Phantasmaphilic favorites as Carrie Ann Baade, Tina Imel, and Scott Holloway:

        "I am tired, beloved, of chafing my heart against the want of you; of squeezing it into little ink drops, and posting it. And I scald alone, here, under the fire of the great moon." -- Amy Lowell

The moon has captivated people through the centuries, with her magical powers, her bright luminescence, and the strange things that seem to occur during her ever changing cycles. She is a spiritual center encouraging us to explore, evolve and find creativity in the most unique places. Some find that she is a trickster, or that of one that brings illusions that only the seerer can bring to reality. Looking up to the sky she is with us each night, as faithfull as the sunshine, and lighting our way into the darkness in which we all must travel to find light again.

Having been photographed, painted, sculpted, costumed, and brought about in every medium to secure her mystical allure into eternity -- it is no wonder why we adore her presence. With this exhibition the artists have taken all her nature, and created artwork based on the "moon".

The curators, Aunia Kahn and Russell J. Moon, should feel very proud, as it looks marvelous.  The show opens on October 27th and is up through November 11th.  SF folks, be sure to check it out.

Lori Field show!

Lori Field  "I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did"  2012

Lori Field's work is enchanting and gossamer-fine, and constantly sets me agog, agape, and covered with goosebumps.  Her new show of silverpoint drawings, "Wild Horses and Wallflowers" will be up at Claire Oliver from October 25th through November 24th, and I could not be more excited to bask in their lunar filigree.

Lori Field
Wild Horses and Wallflowers
October 25 - November 24, 2012

Opening reception with the Artist Thursday, Oct. 25 from 6-8 p.m.

CLAIRE OLIVER
513 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001 / Tel: 212.929.5949 / www.ClaireOliver.com

Lori Field’s fine lines and hushed, intimate contours take us quietly by the hand to lead us into a world where beasts and humans share living spaces and limbs. Through beautiful, botanical motifs and repeated imagery, the Artist creates a fantasyland backdrop for her cast of imagined characters. She harnesses an intensity in her animal figures' direct stares and fluid gestures that, in combination with the innocence and beauty of their androgynous and often childlike human attendants, invites a sincere conversation on vulnerability. Silent rabbits, deer, giraffes, zebras, and a myriad of animal hybrids emphasize the hyperawareness that comes from listening intently - not just waiting a turn to be heard.

Compounding on her work in colored pencil and encaustic, this exhibition continues Field's emphasis on drawing and obsessive detail. One hundred spectacular new works on paper revitalize the archaic medium of silverpoint, an exacting and unforgiving medium that forces the hand-eye coordination and focus the Artist seeks. Originally used to make the under-drawings for oil paintings, silverpoint is executed with a metal stylus on a prepared, gessoed surface. Because the stylus’s lines cannot be erased, silverpoint drawing requires a steady hand, concentration, and precision that, for Field, create a meditative state in which her imagination is unlocked. As the silver in the drawing oxidizes, the line ripens from a bright color to a softer, burnished sepia tone. The organic, changing nature of the work is part of the allure for the Artist.

In creating her own mythology, Field’s voracious consumption of pop culture and current events is
hinted at in the content of her work. The careful viewer is made privy to a post-apocalyptic romanticism that exists outside of the cacophony of confusing and conflicting messages in politics and news media. We are rewarded with her whimsical reversal of scale, her subtle interweaving of historical and cultural tropes, and her idiosyncratic language of form. This is Lori Field's second solo show at Claire Oliver Gallery.

Sounds heavenly, no?

Fredrik Söderberg news!

Fredrik Söderberg  Das Haus der C.G Jüngs mit Mandala and Der Traum I (diptych), 2012

One of my very favorite living artists, Fredrik Söderberg, has been very busy of late.  His current show, "At the Feet of the Guru" is up at Galleri Riis through November 11th:

Galleri Riis is pleased to present our first exhibition with the Swedish artist Fredrik Söderberg (b. 1972). Söderberg is known for his complex and technically skilful paintings with precise and often symmetric compositions. The works treat vast and related subjects such as spiritualism, mysticism, esoterism and the occult. Created in moments of meditative flow, the painting-act becomes an exploration of the unknown and intangible. As in the works of Hilma af Klint, one of the pioneers of spiritual abstraction, art becomes a tool for connecting with something greater than the meagre life on earth; a dimension of spirituality, a gateway towards cosmos and a preparation for the unavoidable - death and possible afterlife. This exploration has become more relevant in a contemporary context severely marked by consumption and a fixation with the private and superficial self.

The exhibition borrows its title from the British author and occultist Kenneth Grant’s (1924-2011) collection of short stories: At the Feet of the Guru, describing Grant’s travels in India and his encounters with gurus and wise men. The exhibition will include nine new works, among them two large watercolour diptychs depicting the Swiss psychiatrist and author C.G. Jung’s house in Küsnacht, as well as a monumental allegorical oil painting on canvas. The works, all made this last year during a residency in London, are the most complex and ambitious works Söderberg has done to date.

Fredrik Söderberg lives and works in Stockholm. He studied at Konstfack University College of Arts between 1995-2000 and The Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm in 2002. His latest solo presentation was in The National Historical Museum in Stockholm in 2011. In 2010 he participated in the group show Nordic delight at the Swedish institute in Paris, and the same year, he exhibited at Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall. 

And in coincident news, Edda Publishing is releasing his first monograph, Paintings 2008-2012:

This book presents a selection of Fredrik's paintings from the past four years. It contains classic images from his exhibitions at Milliken and Magasin 3 in Stockholm, spanning thematically over the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley, Austin Osman Spare, Franz von Bayros, sacred sites and much more.

Paintings: 2008-2012 has an introduction by Carl Abrahamsson. The book is in size A4 (210 x 297 mm), contains 64 pages, and is hardbound in light blue Geltex with a spine in dark blue cloth. It is hand numbered in an edition of 777 copies. The first 50 copies are bound with a leather spine and comes in a slipcase, with the book signed by Söderberg and Abrahamsson.

Interested buyers in the US can procure it via J.D. Holmes distribution here.

Samhain/All Souls' Ritual Workshop at Observatory

I'm delighted to be doing a ritual workshop for Samhain at Observatory on November 1st.  Full info here:

Samhain/All Souls’ Ritual Workshop with Pam Grossman

Leonora Carrington “Samain” 1951

Date: Thursday, November 1st

Time: 7:30-9:30pm

Admission: $20

Presented by Phantasmaphile
***You must RSVP to phantasmaphile [at] gmail.com if you’d like to attend, as space is limited

Samhain, Day of the Dead, and All Soul’s Day all fall between October 31st and November 2nd.  Regardless of the holiday’s name of your choosing, this is the time of year when the veil between worlds is thinnest.  It is also considered “Witches’ New Year,” and it is when our powers of foresight and intuition are at their peak.  Tonight, we gather to commune with our ancestors, honor them, and ask for their guidance.  We will also use methods divination and meditation to set our intention for the coming year.  Finally, we shall feed our beloved dead and ourselves with a traditional “Silent Supper.”

Please bring:

-A bit of food or drink to share with the group, and a bit extra for our ancestors
-Any altar objects you like.  Photographs or other meaningful items of those who have passed are highly recommended.  Other objects can be decorative (Halloween or autumnal decor of any kind is welcome), and/or personal objects which you’d like to have charged.
-A candle and holder
-A cushion, pillow, or fabric, as we will be sitting on the floor (chairs will be available for those who need).

Note-taking is welcome.  This workshop is open to men and women, novices and advanced practitioners alike.

Do drop me an email if you plan on attending, as space is limited.  Looking forward to seeing you there.

Scott Holloway show

Scott Holloway  "Hamsa"  2012

Yes, more gold leaf here, but I really, truly can't help myself.  Scott Holloway's current show, "Janus," is a gilded take on occult iconography, and I am absolutely loving the juxtaposition of the flat, photorealistically painted graphics against their dynamic, gleaming backgrounds.  This piece is even better than it looks, because close up you'll see secret, chiromantic symbols drawn in tiny diagram around the hand.  The exhibition is up at La Luz de Jesus through October 28th, so make sure to catch it if you can.

Benjamin Vierling print

Benjamin Vierling  "Microcosmus Melothesia" 2012

The always impeccable Ouroboros Press has teamed up with esoteric artist Benjamin Vierling yet again to release this beautiful new limited edition, zodiacal print:

The Homo Signorum, or Man of Signs, is a curious figure which appears in medieval astrological manuscripts.  Known as the Melothesic Man or Moon’s Man in astrological medicine, it shows the signs of the zodiac on the specific parts of the body over which tradition has given them rulership. In practice, the melothesia was consulted in order to know which part of the body to avoid “touching with iron” or applying medicine thereunto when the moon was in that specific sign. In the 1st century EV, the Roman poet and astrologer, Marcus Manilius, gave a very early account of the corporeal correspondences of the celestial signs in his poetic book Astronomica. Graphic representations of these figures began showing up frequently in manuscripts during the 14th century and were among the first realistic anatomical illustrations to appear in printed books. More recently, such figures were well-known to rural folk, as they were depicted in almanacks intended for astrological, agricultural, and meteorological prognostications. One such almanack, printed for Daniel Brown in 1628, translates the original Latin of Manilius’ poem about the melothesia into hexameters, the verses indicating the proper placement of the signs on the human frame:

 

Head and face Aries, necke and throate Taurus upholdeth,

To Gemini th’ armes, to Cancer brest stomach and lunges:

As Leo rules the backe and heart, so Virgo delighteth

In guts and belly: reignes and loynes Libra retaineth.

Scorpio the secrets and bladder challengeth: of thighes

Only Sagitarius the governour is: Capricornus

The knees as subjects doth guid, but Aquarius holdeth

The legs: and Pisces maintaine the feet to be their right.

 

The Vierling melothesia demonstrates the hermetic ‘as above, so below’ motif wherein the microcosm has correspondence with the macrocosm. The emblem further reflects this with the serpent biting its tail, bringing to mind the ouroboros in the Codex Marcianus, which is accompanied by the Greek phrase EN TO PAN, or ALL in ALL. Finally, we see here the graphic manifestation of the sentiment behind the saying ‘from head to toe’, wherein we arrive at the whole matter of a subject by traveling across the length of the melothesia‘s form.

 

Images such as these are both beautiful and useful, uniting as they do the practical with the artistic.

 

Produced from the original ink illustration by Benjamin Vierling, and measuring 18 X 24 inches, Microcosmus Melothesia is screenprinted in three colors on cream paper, illuminated with rich gold, scribal black, and a firmament of gradient blues.

There are only 72 hand-numbered copies of these, and at only $33 each, they are quite a steal.  You can order yours here.

Dame Darcy Takes New York

The inimitable magickal comics darling Dame Darcy has a new book out called Handbook for Hot Witches: Dame Darcy's Illustrated Guide to Magic, Love, and Creativity, and she'll be in NYC this week for some fabulous related events. 

First up is a signing at Forbidden Planet on Thursday at 7pm:

And then there will be a show of her work at the 154 Smart Clothes Gallery, presented by Sloan Fine Art.  The reception is on Saturday from 6-9pm, and the exhibition will be up through November 4th:

I can't wait to read the book, and attend as many of the festivities as possible.

Observatory Events!

I'm hosting these three fabulous events at Observatory, so please come along:

Dawn’s Left Hand: The Art of Ithell Colquhoun and Mid-20th Century British Occulture

Ithell Colquhoun

An illustrated lecture with Amy Hale
Date: Friday, October 5th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $10
Presented by Phantasmaphile

Until recently, Ithell Colquhoun was a footnote in the history of the Surrealist movement, but her enormous body of art and writings show her to, in fact, be one of the most prolific and unusual occult thinkers of the twentieth century.  Her dedication to the Hermetic arts brought Colquhoun into contact with some of the most important movements and key occult thinkers in Britain during her life, including Thelema and the OTO, Witchcraft, Masonry, Golden Dawn, alchemy, Martinism, and Druidry.  This illustrated talk will show how the key trends and figures of twentieth century British occulture directly influenced and intersected with the body of work of an important artist and seeker.

Amy Hale is an Anthropologist specializing in contemporary Celtic cultures with an emphasis on Cornwall and esoteric cultural history.  She is the co-editor of New Directions in Celtic Studies (2000) and Inside Merlin’s Cave: A Cornish Arthurian Reader (2000) in addition to writing over 30 other articles ranging in topic from Neo Druidry to politics and occult culture.  She is the past co-editor of the Journal of the Academic Study of Magic (with Susan Johnston Graf), and is working on a biography and several other projects related to the life and work of Ithell Colquhoun.

 

Apocalypse Now? The Lure of Nostradamus in Modern Times

 

An Illustrated Lecture with Stéphane Gerson, Associate Professor of French Studies at NYU

Date: Friday, November 16th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $10
Presented by Phantasmaphile

All of us are familiar with the name Nostradamus, but who was he really? Why did his predictions become so influential in the Renaissance and then persist for nearly five centuries? And what does Nostradamus’ endurance in the West say about us and our own world?  Alone among French prophets and astrologers, Nostradamus and his puzzling quatrains have resurfaced in one historical crisis after another.  Whenever we seem to enter a new era, whenever the premises of our worldview are questioned or imperiled, they offer certainty and solace.

NYU historian Stéphane Gerson grew interested in Nostradamus in the wake of 9/11 and then undertook extensive research in Europe and the U.S.  In this talk, he will situate Michel de Nostredame in his world and then trace the singular posterity of his prophecies until they became our modern Gospel of Doom.  He will explain why so many people have gravitated toward his quatrains and suggest that we reconsider Nostradamus as a creature of the modern West rather than some antidilluvian relic.  Ultimately, the Nostradamus phenomenon tells us more about our past and our present than it does about the future.

Stéphane Gerson is a cultural historian of modern France and the author of Nostradamus: How an Obscure Renaissance Astrologer Became the Modern Prophet of Doom (St. Martin’s Press, 2012).  He is also the editor of a new edition of Nostradamus’s Prophecies for Penguin Classics. An associate professor of French Studies at NYU, Gerson has won several awards, including the Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History and the Laurence Wylie Prize in French Cultural Studies. Gerson lives in Manhattan and Woodstock, NY, with his family.

 

Natural Perfume Blending Workshop with Julianne Zaleta

 

Date: Sunday, December 2nd
Time: 1-4pm
Admission: $130
Presented by Phantasmaphile

***Very limited class size.  You must RSVP to phantasmaphile [at] gmail.com to attend.  You will then receive a payment request via Paypal***

Smell is the most neglected of our senses yet it has an instantaneous power to penetrate our consciousness, invoking memories and emotion. Odors are ethereal and elusive yet can strongly attract or repel.

As a concerned consumer, you are choosing organic food, seeking out sustainable products and opting for eco-friendly packaging. But what about the fragrance you wear? That signature scent is likely composed of synthetic materials (as most commercial fragrances are), mass-produced, packaged and shipped around the world in the millions of units. Natural perfumery is a much different process that uses only essential oils and precious absolutes that are extracted from plants. Like fine wine, subtle differences can be found from the same plant from year to year depending on soil conditions and climate meaning that it is not an exact science but a creative alchemical process.

In this sensory workshop we will examine the artisanal art of natural perfumery. Students will gain a basic understanding of the sense of smell, the history of perfume, the advent of synthetic ingredients and the return to naturals. Perfume ingredients and formulation will be explored, and each participant will leave with two bottles of their own bespoke perfume.

No prior knowledge of perfume making is required. Students should bring a notebook to class, all other materials will be provided.

Julianne Zaleta is a natural perfumer, aromatherapist and herbalist and has trained with Michael Scholes and Jeanne Rose. Owner and sole proprietor of her own company, Herbal Alchemy Apothecary, Julianne creates aromatic and therapeutic remedies and elixirs for a wide variety of ailments. As a perfumer she has trained with Mandy Aftel to create a line of all natural perfumes. Recently she has turned her attention to artisanal cocktails, which makes her work life quite enjoyable, as you can imagine.

 Looking forward to seeing you at some or all!