I am very excited to announce a series of spiritualist themed events produced by my good friend, newest Observatory member, and extremely talented photographer Shannon Taggart. All the events are based around her current Observatory exhibition, The Spirit Art of Stanley Matrunick.

Full details follow; hope to see there!

The Spirit Art of Stanley Matrunick Viewing Event 

Sunday, October 14 - 2pm - 5pm 

Join us for a viewing event during Gowanus Open Studios Weekend. Music and Drinks! The Morbid Anatomy Library will be open also!

About the Exhibit: Stanley Matrunick (1906 – 1995) was a medium and Spiritualist minister who channeled portraits of Ascended Masters, guardians and loved ones from the other side. With the help of spirit guides, Rev. Stanley began creating spirit art in 1954 at the White Lily Chapel in Ashley, Ohio. He was then led to travel across the United States for 40 years doing portraits and readings. His work was often featured on television, radio and in print.  The art presented here is from the private collection of Ron Nagy, historian of Lily Dale, NY, the world’s largest Spiritualist community. Also included are materials about Stanley Matrunick provided by his former student, Sakina Blue –Star of Sedona, Arizona.  

About the Curator: Shannon Taggart is a photographer based in Brooklyn and a member of Observatory. Since 2001, she has been working on a project about Modern Spiritualism. Her images have appeared in publications including Blind Spot, Tokion, TIME and The New York Times Magazine. Her photographs have been shown at Photoworks in Brighton, England, The Photographic Resource Center in Boston, Redux Pictures in New York, the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles and the New Gallery in Houston.

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A History of Ectoplasm: An Illustrated Presentation by Shannon Taggart
Date: Thursday, October 25th

Time: 8pm

Admission: $10

Presented by: Shannon Taggart 

Why Ectoplasm? - Harry Houdini famously wondered this in his scathing critique of Spiritualism. Since it’s first appearances in Victorian era séance rooms, this mysterious substance has continued to seduce, disgust and intrigue believers and skeptics alike. This presentation will consider some of the complicated situations in which ectoplasm played a provocative role including the work of Baron von Schrenck-Notzing, the documentation of the Goligher Circle and the infamous case of Margery the Medium. Shannon Taggart’s images that address the current pursuit of ectoplasm within Modern Spiritualism will also be discussed. This lecture is part of a series that seeks to explore the intrinsic connection between Spiritualism and Photography. 

Shannon Taggart is a photographer based in Brooklyn and a member of Observatory. Her images have appeared in various publications including Blind Spot, Tokion, TIME and The New York Times Magazine. Her work has been recognized by the Inge Morath Foundation, American Photography, the International Photography Awards, the Society for News and Design, Photo District News and the Alexia Foundation for World Peace. Her photographs have been shown at Photoworks in Brighton, England, The Photographic Resource Center in Boston, Redux Pictures in New York, the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles and the New Gallery in Houston.   

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Are We Alone? Planet Mars in the Edwardian Visual and Scientific Imagination, An illustrated lecture with author Jennifer Tucker

Date: Saturday, October 27 

Time: 8pm 

Admission: $10 

Presented by: Shannon Taggart  

Astronomers, religious leaders, and members of the lay public had speculated about the possibility of life on other planets for hundreds of years before the first “proof” appeared, in May 1905, in the first successful photographs of Mars. Newspapers and magazines swiftly published reproductions of the photographs, made by the amateur planetary astronomer and wealthy businessman Percival Lowell, with accompanying descriptions of the “canals” of Mars and its imagined inhabitants. This illustrated talk shows how the intersection of science with new forms of observation and journalistic image display in the late 19^th and early 20^th century galvanized public interest in Mars, and how “Mars Mania” intersected and interacted with key trends and figures in art, journalism, spiritualism, astronomy, evolutionary science, and politics during a period that, noted the British writer H.G. Wells, was fascinated by the idea that “There are certain features in which [Martians] are likely to resemble us.” 

Jennifer Tucker is a historian of science and technology specializing in the study of visual representation, gender, science, and popular knowledge in Victorian England. She is the author of Nature Exposed:  Photography as Eyewitness in Victorian Science (2006) and editor of a special issue of History and Theory on “Photography and Historical Interpretation, “ as well as articles about the visual representation of science and technology in Victorian England. She is finishing a book about the photos and other visual representations that circulated across the wide social spectrum of Victorian society during the most famous legal case of imposture in modern Britain.

You can find out more by clicking here.

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2012/10/ectoplasm-spirit-art-and-mars-in.html