Film maker, friend, and many-time Observatory lecturer Ronni Thomas finds Observatory--the event and gallery space I founded with some friends in Brooklyn New York a few years back--inspiring. So inspiring, in fact, that he has created a new web-based video series entitled "The Midnight Archive: Tales from the Observatory" which will use as a launching off point the events, classes, field trips and personalities to be found in this space.

This Friday night we will be hosting a launch party for The Midnight Archive at The Coney Island Museum as part of my ongoing exhibition The Great Coney Island Spectacularium; more on that party can be found here.

In the meantime, above is a teaser for the show, which features five Observatory presenters--including our self-taught anthropomorphic taxidermy and mummification instructors--and is graced by the music of Stephen Coates of The Real Tuesday Weld. And following is what auteur Ronni Thomas has to say about this new series and its inspiration:

About an ODD year ago, or so, i had the honor to lecture at the ever impressive Brooklyn Observatory in, well... Brooklyn, NY. I was amazed at the turnout - I could not believe so many people were interested in such strange topics. Talking to Joanna Ebenstein of Morbid Anatomy and the Observatory itself, it seemed apparent that there was a demand for a series on the exotic and the esoteric.

Hence - The Midnight Archive... Its not only a web series but a collection - so to speak - of some of the unique people, collections, careers and artifacts from the Observatory as well as around the world. Consider it a sampler, an Observatory Sampler - like those Whitman's Chocolate Samplers (only don't crush each of these to figure out whats inside). The Series launches Friday August 12th at Coney Island USA - for details please email ronni [at] themidnightarchive.com

Title Theme by the ever amazing Stephen Coates (The Real Tuesday Weld, Lazarus and the Plane Crash) http://www.tuesdayweld.com.

Stay tuned for full episodes at themidnightarchive.com. For more on Friday's launch party--where at least one entire episode will be screened--click here. For more on Observatory--the space that inspired it all!--click here.