Phantasmaphile

Samuli Heimonen monograph

Speaking of monographs, the wonderful Samuli Heimonen was kind enough to send me a copy of his recently published book.  Entitled "Armi kiittää" or Armi Thanks You, it is chock full of Heimonen's darkly emotional paintings of the mysterious connection between animals and humans.  Though the text is written in Finnish, you can read the English translation for free here.

Thank you, Samuli!

Limited Edition Art Monograph by Mon Petit Fantome

The unbelievably prolific and brilliant Chad Merritt of Mon Petit Fantome has just released a limited edition monograph of his work, and you should seriously buy it.  Entitled "Take My Hand and Follow Me," it collects his elegant shadowtale papercut works in one tome.  Those that order the limited edition book will also get a free print of their choice.  I can't wait to receive these treasures in the mail.  Ohhh exquisite anticipation!

But Who Will Bell the Cats?

I've raved about Cynthia von Buhler's beautiful artwork here before, so you can imagine how delighted I was to receive a review copy of her new children's book, But Who Will Bell the Cats?  The story is a response to Aesop's famous question, and follows two friends, Mouse and Brown Bat, who long to get out of their dank basement and enjoy a life of luxury in the castle upstairs.  Trouble is, that castle is populated by a herd of pampered cats.  Using determination and plenty of ingenuity, the two tiny schemers try to execute their grand plan toward grandeur.

It's a lovely story, but the real star of the show here is von Buhler's obsessively crafted visual world.  Each picture in the book is actually a photograph of a unique diorama-esque scene which she designed, built, and decorated, then populated with painted character cut-outs (you can actually see her incrediblly labor-intensive, behind-the-scenes process here).  The overall effect is unique and captivating, and this book will no doubt be adored by children and adults alike for many years to come.

This weekend: MoCCA Fest!

Yes, dear hearts.  It's my favorite art/comix fair of the year, and it's happening this weekend.  Come to MoCCA Fest 2010.  You will want to bring cash and plenty of it, as there are always bagfuls of graphic treasures and other goodies to haul home afterwards.

Olaf Hajek's "Flowerhead" Monograph

The wonderful folks at Gestalten were kind enough to send me a review copy of Olaf Hajek's Flowerhead, and I could not be more charmed by it.  This came as no surprise, as I've been a longtime fan of Hajek's pieces, and count him amongst my very favorite illustrators working today.  Nonetheless, I was unprepared for the impeccable quality of the printing, as each page is as pigment saturated and vibrant as his work so richly deserves.

The monograph itself is fairly straightforward: one beautifully written yet succinct preface by Sonja Commentz, followed by 135 pages of Hajek's illustrations spanning from 2005-2009, and ending with a thumb-nailed index page with full details about each piece.  In Flowerhead's case, the simple layout is a wise choice, as Hajek's work is so complex and image-laden, that the fewer distractions the better.

What is most impressive to me is that while the book contains both commissioned illustrations and personal "fine art" works, the two categories are virtually impossible to differentiate upon first glance.  Hajek's style and vision are so vivid and one-of-a-kind that is doesn't matter if he's painting for the Ritz Carlton, Rolling Stone, or himself.  In his world, men grow beards of neon pink flowers, school boys wear octopi on their heads, insects are adorned with ruffled haute couture ballgowns.  And the color.  Oh, the color!  Riotous and royal, and drawn from all cultures, from the most primitive to the prettiest Parisian palettes.  His work is an exercise in exuberance and abundance, a true pageant of flowers and creatures and costumes, all flowing into each other in a seamless visual medley.  It's the kind of art one longs to lick.  Utterly, gob-smackingly, unabashedly scrumptious.

Bravo to Gestalten for allowing so many of us to bring Hajek's work into our homes and onto our bookshelves.  Our lives are all the brighter for it.

The Circus of Dr. Lao

I recently read The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney, and it became an instant favorite.  It's a little-known work of what I suppose would be called speculative fiction, written in 1935 about a mysterious traveling circus that takes a tiny Arizona town by storm.  But what's different about this circus (and, frankly, what made me fall head over heels in love with the story), is that rather than featuring the usual carny rapscallions and sideshow freaks, it contains delightfully incongruous mythic beasts and legendary characters, including a chimera, Medusa, a unicorn, Appolonius of Tyana, a mermaid, and so on. 

As with other circus stories (Bradbury's in particular come to mind), this one has its own ominous twists and decidedly adult themes, and plenty of sardonic societal commentary.  But this one surprised me by just how dark it got in places, especially considering when it was written.  I don't want to give anything away, but I will say I think it's awesome that Finney allowed himself to be so transgressive, and I'll bet that's why this book didn't get as much fanfare as it should have.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention two other points.  First of all, after reading this book, I did watch the 1964 film version, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, hoping it would be if not as good, then at least enjoyable.  Hate to say it, but I was pretty disappointed.  It stars Tony Randall (truly hammy in seven different roles) and Barbara Eden (beautiful, boring), and while the special effects are impressive for the time, the story is extremely watered down -  not to mention a whole real estate plot is added which I found unnecessary and uninteresting.  They also excluded most of the best creatures, and altogether managed to make a unique story pretty banal, under the guise of trying to be "family-friendly." 

Secondly, the book also has in its favor some truly wonderful illustrations by the masterful Boris Artzybasheff.  I didn't realize this when I ordered the book, and when it arrived I was beside myself with glee. 

In sum, you should definitely give The Circus of Dr. Lao a read if you haven't already. You'll be glad you did.  As for the movie?  I say skip it.

Skinny Legs and All

As you probably know by now, I'm a huge Tom Robbins fan.  I'm tempted to wax poetic about why that is, but I think the following quote from this interview he did sums it up quite nicely:

"What I try to do, among other things, is to mix fantasy and spirituality, sexuality, humor and poetry in combinations that have never quite been seen before in literature. And I guess when a reader finishes one of my books -- provided the reader does finish the book -- I would like for him or her to be in the state that they would be in after a Fellini film or a Grateful Dead concert. Which is to say that they've encountered the lifeforce in a large, irrepressible and unpredictable way and as a result their sense of wonder has been awakened and all of their possibilities have been expanded.

At the same time, I don't think that a novel is supposed to be a guide book to happiness any more than it's supposed to be a journal of one's personal pain and frustration, which most novels are today, unfortunately. I think the novels that are most important are those that are more on the order of those coyotes that howl on the hills outside of town. Something mysterious and wild and hypnotic."

I've decided not to do a proper review of this book per se.  It's easy enough to find a million scholarly critiques and plot summaries of it online, as the novel is now 20 years old.  I thought, rather, I'd share my experience of the book itself with you, particularly as objects seemingly disappearing and reappearing is such a big theme of the story.

I had a copy of Skinny Legs and All sitting on a shelf in my childhood home since I was twelve or so.  But I confess it remained unread for years - for though I loved Still Life with Woodpecker and Jitterbug Perfume with a fierce passion, this particular tome always seemed a bit intimidating in both girth (it's 422 pages) and subject matter (it's about, well, the history of religion, conflict in the Middle East, the purpose of art, and the many veils of illusion that make up our so-called "reality."  In a nutshell).

Fast forward to last year, when the book was referenced in another book I was reading, and it struck me that it was high time I tackled the thing.  Next time I was home visiting my parents however (now in a different house), Skinny Legs and All was nowhere to be found.  Sure, I could have bought a new copy, but it irked me to buy something which I knew I already owned.  I promised myself that next time I visited I would look even harder, and go through the attic boxes and closet crates where surely the book must have ended up in the move.

Fast forward again a few months later to Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, where I found myself drawn to a tiny used bookshop I had never seen before, and felt compelled to enter.  And it was here where a) The book popped in my head and I searched for it on the shelf to no avail  b)  A group of college kids came in moments later, and I overheard them looking for another Tom Robbins book (Jitterbug Perfume), which struck me as uncannily synchronistic  and c) Just before leaving the shop, I walked over to the chaotic pile of unshelved books and, well, you know what happens next.  Yes, lo and behold, crammed in one of the teetering stacks on the floor was a beaten up version of this book with its original cover (not the fancy reprint they sell now), exactly like the one I'd had as a kid.  Feeling exhilarated, I paid my $4, and took the book back to my apartment.

Fast forward to last night, when I stayed up late to finish it, as I quite literally could not bring myself to put it down.  Because it is so entertaining, and truthful, and bizarre, and utterly important.  And way way way too much fun. 

And, yes, when it was over, I did feel exactly how Robbins hoped:  in a state of euphoria and bedazzlement.  And also, I experienced of that rare sense of belonging that one receives when one encounters a work of art that is at once inspiring and totally reaffirming.  I wish I could photocopy the last 15 pages or so, and make everyone on earth read them.  But then, perhaps not everyone is ready for that yet.  Perhaps it's best appearing right when one needs it and ready to receive its madcap wisdom and serious joy.

Trinie Dalton's Sweet Tomb!

There is much exciting news on the Trinie Dalton front:

-  She's got a new book out called Sweet Tomb.  I am reading it now and it is ridiculously great.  If you want to read a story jammed with candy, witches, vampires, and the tumult of young love, then this is the book for you.  It is also conveniently pocket-sized, and features cover art by the superb Matt Greene.

-  She is doing a reading from said book on Friday, December 11th at 8pm at Outpost as part of the Supermachine series.

-  She has a new web site and blog, where you can keep track of her comings, goings, musings, and revelations.

Yeah, Trinie!

Occult America

I just finished reading the fascinating book, Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation, by Mitch Horowitz.  As the title implies, this is a non-fiction work which traces the influence of "magical" beliefs and ideas on the development of the U.S.  And it is every bit as interesting and thorough as one would hope for such a supremely juicy topic.

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 highly enough.  Anyone interested in history (be it magical or otherwise) will enjoy this revealing and informative book. 

***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.

The Victorian Blood Book

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.

Codex Seraphinianus

I was in the opulent Rizzoli bookshop on 57th street a few weeks back, where I encountered a most magnificent tome.  CODEX SERAPHINIANUS is a beautiful beast of a book.  It is giant and heavy and has all of the majesty of some sort of grimoire or encyclopedia of an alternative universe.  But I'm getting ahead of myself, and should tell you what it contains.

The book was written and illustrated by Luigi Serafini in the 1970s.  It is an imaginary record of a strange world written in an invented language, divvied up into 11 chapters, and organized thusly:

The first section appears to describe the natural world, dealing with flora, fauna, and physics. The second deals with the humanities, the various aspects of human life: clothing, history, cuisine, architecture and so on. Each chapter seems to treat a general encyclopedic topic. The topics of each separate chapter are as follows:

• The first chapter describes many alien types of flora: strange flowers, trees that uproot themselves and migrate, etc.
• The second chapter is devoted to the fauna of this alien world, depicting many animals that are surreal variations of the horse, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, birds, etc.
• The third chapter deals with what seems to be a separate kingdom of odd bipedal creatures, apparently engineered for various purposes.
• The fourth chapter deals with something that seems to be physics and chemistry, and is by far the most abstract and enigmatic.
• The fifth chapter deals with bizarre machines and vehicles.
• The sixth chapter explores the general humanities: biology, sexuality, various aboriginal peoples, and even shows examples of plant life and tools (such as pens and wrenches) grafted directly into the human body.
• The seventh chapter is historical. It shows many people (some only vaguely human) of unknown significance, giving their times of birth and death. It also depicts many scenes of historical (and possibly religious) significance. Also included are examples of burial and funereal customs.
• The eighth chapter depicts the history of the Codex's alien writing system.
• The ninth chapter deals with food, dining practices, and clothing.
• The tenth chapter describes bizarre games (including playing cards and board games) and athletic sports.
• The eleventh chapter is devoted entirely to architecture.

Thanks, wikipedia!  The drawings are every bit as surreal and riveting as one would hope.  Here are a few sample pages to wet your whistle:

The Lost Symbol

I always feel very sheepish when talking about Dan Brown's books.  As I wrote here, I realize The Da Vinci Code is hardly a great work of literature, and yet it was packed to bursting with topics I'm passionate about (art history, mysticism, the divine feminine, and so on), and was an addictive and easy read.  So it's with a bit of ambivalence that I confess that I already bought and read his new book, The Lost Symbol.  But you know what?  I loved every second of it.

If you are going to read it, you have to be prepared for the fact that yes, it is heavy-handed, written at a grade school reading level, and that his characters are two-dimensional to the point of absurdity.  But if you can get beyond that - and I sincerely believe you should - you will see that it is actually quite a revolutionary and fascinating piece of writing.  Once again, it features Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology, a - much like Indiana Jones - skeptical scholar who gets taken on life-or-death, gnostic thrill ride, this time in Washington DC.  He has to crack ancient codes, solve mystic puzzles, and just generally use his knowledge of cultures past and present to save the day/world.  Formulaic, sure.  But Brown's true genius lies in the way he is able to wrap up thousands of years of esoteric knowledge in a junky, delicious package, to be eagerly consumed by the masses.

I'm a big believer in no spoilers, so I can't say too much more about the plot.  But I will say that this book contains well-researched and highly revelatory information about the founding of America, Freemasonry, the occult, Egyptian history, noetics, and, to put it bluntly, most of the world's great religious traditions.  It can be (and will be) debated until the cows come home how much of the information is accurate.  In my opinion, that is besides the point.  The point is, Dan Brown's book is a catalyst for readers who I believe will be inspired to dig deeper and to do their own research into esoteric knowledge. 

It is strange that the veil of the great mysteries is being drawn back by a pop culture airport book.  And yet if you think about it, what better way to disseminate this information and inspire people to learn more about it, than to make it palatable and, dare I say, fun?  Change is definitely afoot.  This is currently the #1 book on Amazon.  The #2 and #8 most popular articles in today's New York Times are about Carl Jung and shamanism, respectively.  People are wanting to know more about alternative, and yes, so-called spiritual ways of being.  Some may call it a trend, I call it an evolution of consciousness.

More NYC Jungerie

C.G. Jung  Systema mundi totius 1916

It's a good time to be a Jung fan indeed.  First of all, run don't walk to read this NY Times magazine article they just put up about Jung and the decades-in-the-making publication of his personal mystic diary, The Red Book.  Secondly, get ready to view the book itself at this phenomenal sounding exhibition at the Rubin Museum:

This unprecedented exhibition marks the first public presentation of the preeminent psychologist C. G. Jung’s (1875-1961) famous Red Book. In the book Jung developed his principal theories of archetypes, collective unconscious, and the process of individuation. Many contemporary scholars regard the text as the most influential unpublished work in the history of psychology. More than two-thirds of the large, red, leather-bound manuscript’s pages are filled with Jung’s brightly hued and striking graphic forms paired with his thoughts written in a beautiful, illuminated style. Jung was fascinated by the mandala—an artistic representation of the inner and outer cosmos used in Tibetan Buddhism to help practitioners reach enlightenment—and used mandala structures in a number of his own works. Jung’s first known mandala-like work, Systema mundi totius (1916), will be on display. Created between 1914 and 1930, the Red Book has never before been seen in public, outside the circle of Jung’s family and very close friends. Alongside the 95-year-old volume will be a number of oil, chalk, and tempera paintings and preparatory sketches related to it and other original manuscripts, including the Black Books, which contain ideas and fantasies leading up to the Red Book. The exhibition coincides with W.W. Norton & Company’s publication of a facsimile and translation of the Red Book.

The exhibition will be up from October 7th through January 25th.  I am levitating with joy and anticipation!  Cannot wait.

Book Fairs

There are two amazing book fairs coming up soon that I wanted to alert you all to.  The first is the Esoteric Book Conference in Seattle, on September 19th and 20th.  I wish wish wish I could go to this, it sounds like something I always dreamed about, but which I never knew actually existed:

The Esoteric Book Conference is an annual international event to bring together authors, artists, publishers and bookmakers working in the field of esotericism. In addition to presentations by notable authors and scholars, the conference opens it doors to publishers and booksellers showcasing new & used books as well as rare and hard-to-find esoteric texts. For two days the conference hosts the largest selection of esoteric books under one roof. Contemporary esoteric publishing, finepress book arts and antiquarian texts are offered to augment the libraries of readers, scholars and collectors alike.

This multi-disciplined conference will feature presentations by contemporary authorities researching and working in esoteric currents both East & West. Western Esotericism, Gnosticism, Theosophy, Mythology, Shamanism, Rosicrucianism, Sacred Sciences, Occulture and World Religions are among the subjects to be represented. An esoteric book fair and art show will also be on site allowing education, vending and networking in a unique field of literary, historical and cultural arts.

The second is the annual NY Art Book Fair from October 2-4, this year taking place at the marvelous P.S.1.:

Printed Matter's annual fair of contemporary art books, art catalogs, artists' books, art periodicals, and 'zines offered for sale by over 200 international publishers, booksellers, antiquarian dealers, and independent artist/publishers. Admission to the fair is FREE.

This one is in my fair city, so I will most likely be there myself. 

New Alan Moore Book!

By now, you've probably realized that if Alan Moore is selling it, I am probably buying it.  It's just been announced that he's written the text for a book called 25,000 Years of Erotic Freedom, and it is already available for pre-order.  It's a survey of erotic art, edited by Eva Prinz, and published by Abrams.  Moore's text is adapted from an essay he originally wrote for the 25th issue of the ever-marvelous Arthur Magazine.  The book is described thusly:

"'Sexually progressive cultures gave us literature, philosophy, civilization and the rest, while sexually restrictive cultures gave us the Dark Ages and the Holocaust.'—Alan Moore

With each new technological advance, pornography has proliferated and degraded in quality. Today, porn is everywhere, but where is it art? 25,000 Years of Erotic Freedom surveys the history of pornography and argues that the success and vibrancy of a society relates to its permissiveness in sexual matters.

This history of erotic art brings together some of the most provocative illustrations ever published, showcasing the evolution of pornography over diverse cultures from prehistoric to modern times. Beginning with the Venus of Willendorf, created between 24,000-22,000 bce, and book-ended by contemporary photography, it also contains a timeline covering major erotic works in several cultures. 25,000 Years of Erotic Freedom ably captures the ancient and insuppressible creative drive of the sexual spirit, making this book a treatise on erotic art."

Sounds like fascinating, powerful stuff.  Can't wait til my copy arrives.

Breaking Open the Head

I just finished Breaking Open the Head by Daniel Pinchbeck, and I can honestly say it is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read.  It is at once a history of the psychedelic movement, an exploration of shamanism, and an autobiographical spiritual narrative recounting the author's own mind-boggling experiences.  I found myself underlining entire chunks of the book, as there were so many rich ideas which were either brand new to me or else entirely affirming of my own suspicions and views.  I think I will leave it there, as it's far too brilliant and complex a book to sum up in just a few words, and I am frankly still digesting it.  I will say that I did discover two of Pinchbeck's other projects, Reality Sandwich and Evolver, and have been delightedly poking around those two sites recently.  Have a look. 

I Still Live by Annie Murphy

I just finished reading I Still Live: Biography of a Spiritualist by Annie Murphy.  It is a 60 page graphic novella, though the format is a bit more like a beautiful picture book for adults (in other words, lots of full-page images).  It is an homage to Achsa Sprague, a heretofore little known spiritualist who lived in 19th century Vermont.  The book consists of several threads, all woven together to form a sensitive celebration of this woman's life, as well as the profound effect she's had on the book's creator.  Sprague's own diary entries and poetry excerpts are scrawled throughout in script, while historical facts and Murphy's personal, modern-day accounts give the story both context and shape.  The overall effect is one of getting a glimpse into the minds of two very gifted and quietly powerful women.  It feels like a genuine privilege to get to read this mystic dialogue between them. 

Ask your local comics shop to stock this book if they don't already!  And in the meantime, you can contact Annie Murphy directly for purchase.  (Also, if you check her blog, you'll see pages from her forthcoming illustrated esoteric alphabet book, for which I am of course chomping at the bit!)

Lilli Carré

Lilli Carré  excerpt from "The Lagoon"  2008

Another prized MoCCA Fest acquisition was a signed copy of the graphic novella The Lagoon by Lilli Carré.  I've been a fan of her work for a while now, so it was a treat to meet her.  I can't recommend this book highly enough.  It is a story about a family, and the mysterious singing lagoon monster that lives near their house.  In addition to the beautiful black and white art, I am impressed by the general pacing of the story.  There is not much dialog, though moments of onomatopoeia and stillness give the narrative a steady, rhythmic shape.  It's like a visual song, quite unlike anything I've seen before in this medium.

Tomb of Illumination

How to begin talking about the book/model-making kit that is Jeff Hoke's miraculous Tomb of Illumination?  I'm flabbergasted.  I suppose I'll take the easy way out to start, and lift the description right from the publisher's site:

In 1604, a band of European brothers—the last remnants of a secret society—went on a journey to discover the hidden past of their mysterious order. Their explorations led them to a hidden underground vault, the final resting place of scholar and mystic Christian Rosenkreutz, the father of Rosicrucianism.

Tomb of Illumination sheds light on the life of Rosenkreutz and the earth-shattering changes that he helped bring about in realms such as politics, religion, science, literature, and social rights.

Additionally, this deluxe folio includes a full-color scale model of the fabled seven-sided, domed tomb of Christian Rosenkreutz, along with various miniaturized reproductions of his books, magical tools, and scientific instruments, all painstakingly drawn and colored by Jeff Hoke, creator of The Museum of Lost Wonder.

Tomb of Illumination is an 11.75 x 9.5-inch folio containing a 12-page, generously illustrated pamphlet, 11 pages of paper model sheets to cut and assemble, and an 8-page booklet of step-by-step instructions. Paper dolls of Father Rosenkreutz, Rene Descartes, Paracelsus, and other luminaries are included for staging historical re-enactments with the finished Tomb of Illumination model.

Like Hoke's previous masterpiece, Museum of Lost Wonder, this is a lavishly designed, demi-historical marvel of a work replete with diagrams, illustrations, and even 3D models to assemble.  Order yourself a copy of Tomb of Illumination today, and while you're eagerly awaiting its arrival, you can play around with its beautiful interactive microsite and get a magical taste of what's to come.

When Is A Clock

When Is A Clock is a stunning play by the brilliant (and very handsome) Matthew Freeman, and is about a man searching for his vanished wife, synchronicity, magic, mystery, and scrapple - to name just a few elements.  It awed crowds with its first run in Manhattan last spring, and contains writing which the NY Times said "...deserves to be enshrined in some kind of hall of fame: it’s savvy and preposterous and utterly original."  If you missed the performances, have no fear as the script is now available from Samuel French and through Amazon.  The text reads almost like a poem, and is at turns lyrical, hysterical, and utterly moving.  Not to be missed.

Metamorphosis 2

I'm a huge fan of Jon Beinart's book Metamorphosis, so it's no surprise that the second installment in the series, Metamorphosis 2, is a treasure trove of fantastical art as well.  Like the first, this book features the work of 50 contemporary masters of representational, imaginative works.  It is an impressive showcase in that it includes both the very well known (ie. Robt Williams and H.R. Giger) as well as some of the more up-and-coming artists who deserve far more attention (many of whom have been featured on this site - ie. Heather Nevay, Ben Tolman, Madeline von Foerster, and so on).  Beinart is doing a great service by cataloging this movement, though he is understandably loath to classify or categorize the works under one blanket name. 

The book itself is hardbound and image-rich with extremely high quality printing.  This is a must-have for any art library, and will surely be considered one of this period's classic tomes, right up there with Kirsten Anderson's Pop Surrealism or Gestalten's The Upset (which I'll be reviewing for this site soon).  There is very little text to read, so the experience of flipping through it is that of looking through a series of miraculous windows.  Pure delight.

The Enemy Within

I just finished reading The Enemy Within: 2,000 Years of Witch-hunting in the Western World by John Demos (Viking).  In the book, Demos explores the history of witch-hunting as well as the reasons - and, he argues, essential need for it.  As such, it is both a clear time line and a sociological study of the famous witch-hunts of Europe and colonial US, and a treatise about the more general idea of scapegoating and finger pointing, complete with modern day examples.

The book is divided helpfully into four sections.  The first chronicles witch-hunting in Europe, which took place mainly in Germany and Sweden, and cost thousands of lives.  The second section moves to the pre-Salem US colonies.  The third section is dedicated entirely to the Salem Trials.  And the fourth section looks at modern witch-hunts, which, while absent of any so-called "witches," nonetheless follow similar patterns of paranoia, exclusion, and punishment.

On the whole the book is a fascinating read.  Though history is not a subject that comes easily to me, Demos does a fine job of being concise and linear, and his writing is peppered with narrative stories that illuminate the more factual material.  It's a great play-by-play of the witch craze, and for me, at times, an emotional one.  As Demos explains, though anyone could hypothetically be considered a "witch," it was almost always women who were singled out in an act of mass misogyny.  Additionally, the accused often posed an unintentional threat through having at least one of the following elements:  having too little or too much wealth; not exhibiting "womanly" traits and being bolder or rougher in personality than the ideal; mental instability; practicing folk magic or non-Christian, superstitious traditions; being a widow; and the list goes on.  Later in the book, Demos' arguments for comparing classical witch-hunts to more recent incidents (Anti-Freemasonry, McCarthyism, school child abuse scandals, and so on) are impressively balanced, and show that every age has the potential for hysteria and demonization - though usually the demons are the accusers, not the accused.

MYTHTYM

I just finished reading an absolute banquet of a book.  MYTHTYM is so good and so unusual, I'm actually having trouble knowing how to begin talking about it.  So I suppose I'll just dive in.

The book is in fact a collected anthology of three rather large zines Trinie Dalton (whose praises I have sung here before) put together over the years, each with a different magical theme:  mirrors, unicorns, and werewolves, respectively.  Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?  But that doesn't begin to do this justice.  Because in addition to her own brilliant, exuberant writings, there are essays, stories, and artwork by her myriad creative friends and colleagues.  And we're not talking any old pals here.  We're talking Dennis Cooper, Sue De Beer, Matt Greene, Marnie Weber, and so on.  In other words, some of the most imaginative, talented people around.

The thing about variations-on-a-theme projects is that the quality of the work therein tends to be sporadic at best.  Not so the case with MYTHTYM.  I can honestly say that though each contributor certainly has his or her own distinct point of view, each piece is impressive and interesting on its own.  Some pieces are downright analytical, like Dalton's essay on mirrors, horror, and liminality.  Some are personal, such as Alexandro Segade's piece about witches and homosexuality.  Some made me squeal laughing, like Casey McKinney's letter to Isaac Asimov about lycanthropy.  The visual art throughout is strange and swoonworthy.  And there are Dalton's madcap treats nestled in the book as well, such as her ode to unicorn stickers, and her sweetly stalkerish Shelley Duvall Crossword.

Lastly, publisher PictureBox did, as always, a bang up job in the design and printing.  You can't get a sense of this via jpeg, but this is a truly gorgeous 200+ page gem, with a gold foil lettered red cloth hardcover, and thick ink saturated pages.  I'm even crazy about how this book smells, I kid you not.

So go ahead, and pick yourself up a copy.  Pick up extras and give them as gifts.  I truly believe anyone who digs Phantasmaphile would be over the moon about MYTHTYM.

*I've just been informed that PictureBox is having a massive sale on tons of books through the end of the month.  Read about it here, and then buy something.  MYTHYM is 50% off - WHOA!  You need to get on that now.

The Mentalist's Handbook

You know, though I was intrigued as soon as I heard about Clint Marsh's The Mentalist's Handbook (Red Wheel/Weiser), I truly had no idea what to expect out of it.  The subtitle of the book, "An Explorer's Guide to Astral, Spirit, and Psychic Worlds," sounded promising enough, but how seriously would it take itself, and how literally were we talking? 

Well, quite literally in fact.  Throughout the book, Marsh acts as a clear and patient teacher, describing what he calls "The Aetheric Plane," a multi-leveled sphere of energy and consciousness that at once transcends and permeates the world as we know it.  Yes, this tome is precisely what it says it is:  a travel guide (maps included), a bestiary (with pictures and descriptions of "aetheric beings"), and, most importantly, a step-by-step instruction manual for how to have one's own aetheric adventures.  Through the use of meditation exercises and visualizations, Marsh encourages the reader to expand her mind and explore this (not quite) terrain. 

Does it work?  Truth be told, I would need to start the book afresh and dedicate much time and energy into actually going through all of the exercises.  Make no mistake, this is an actual training course to start you learning a technique that takes years of practice to master.  I will say that Marsh's methods are based upon the very sorts of meditation and lucid thinking which mystics of all cultures have been utilizing throughout history.  I will also say that it is a very enjoyable read, with a friendly, encouraging tone, crystal clear instructions, and gorgeous illustrations by Jeff Hoke (himself the creator of another magical book I cannot recommend enough, The Museum of Lost Wonder ).

Marsh and Hoke are frequent collaborators who both aim to make the esoteric accessible, inspiring, and fun.  I encourage you to read their books, as well as the other pamphlets and projects put out by Clint Marsh's delightful imprint, Wonderella. 

Trinie Dalton signing - tonight!

The miraculous Trinie Dalton is signing copies of her new book, MYTHTYM, tonight at Den.  I don't think I'll be able to make it - darn.  But I will be reviewing the book here soon, so watch this space.

(Thanks, John and Will!)