Film by James Bell and music by Paul Deuth (a.k.a. Meteorologeist)
Runtime approx 1 hr.
Date: Saturday, November 19th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

“No Computer Is An Island” is a silent movie animated entirely in PowerPoint and accompanied by electronic music, mixed live during the presentation. Utilizing inventive music and limited animation presets, a depressing world of office life, shallow relationships and adult responsibility is presented in 256 colors. The presentation follows a day in the life of one workflow shape, appropriately named Bubbles, as he goes about the business of being a detached thought bubble. Other workflow characters overlap and interrupt his story, creating images that exploit the constraints of PowerPoint as an animation tool by using the conventions of silent film. “No Computer Is An Island” engages the timeless need for narrative, inviting the viewer to create meaning slide by slide.

James E. P. Bell regularly makes PowerPoint presentations in an office building in midtown Manhattan. A founding member of the interactive performance group PowerPoint, James has explored the aesthetic potential of MicroSoft Office applications in productions such as “Introduction to Change Management” (1999), “Violence in the Workplace” (2003), and now “No Computer Is An Island” (2010).

Paul Deuth is an electronic musician/composer/producer (A.K.A. Meteorologeist) and director of photography. With an extensive career in television, Paul most enjoys expressing himself in multi-media artistic ventures including projects with PowerPoint, Fire and Ice, Hold Please, and the Prospects. You can experience some of Paul’s music at http://www.myspace.com/meteorologeist

Date: Tuesday, November 29th
Time: 7 PM-11 PM
Admission: $60
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
***MUST RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com; Class size limited to 15

Anthropomorphic taxidermy–the practice of mounting and displaying taxidermied animals as if they were humans or engaged in human activities–was a popular art form during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The best known practitioner of the art form is British taxidermist Walter Potter who displayed his pieces–which included such elaborate tableaux as The Death of Cock Robin, The Kitten Wedding, and The Kitten Tea Party–in his own museum of curiosities.

On Tuesday November 29th, please join Morbid Anatomy and taxidermist, tattoo artist and educator Susan Jeiven for a beginners class in anthropomorphic taxidermy. All materials–including a mouse for each student–will be provided, and each class member will leave at the end of the day with their own anthropomorphic taxidermied mouse. Students are invited to bring any miniature items with which they might like to dress or decorate their new friend; some props and miniature clothing will also be provided by the teacher. A wide variety of sizes and colors of mice will be available.

No former taxidermy experience is required.

Also, some technical notes:

• We use NO harsh or dangerous chemicals.
• Everyone will be provided with gloves.
• All animals are disease free.
• Although there will not be a lot of blood or gore, a strong constitution is necessary; taxidermy is not for everyone.
• All animals were already dead, nothing was killed for this class. All mice used are feeder animals for snakes and lizards and would literally be discarded if not sold.
• Please do not bring any dead animals with you to the clas

You can contact Sue with any more questions by clicking here.

Date: Tuesday, November 15th
Time: 7 PM-11 PM
Admission: $60
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
***MUST RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com; Class size limited to 15

Anthropomorphic taxidermy–the practice of mounting and displaying taxidermied animals as if they were humans or engaged in human activities–was a popular art form during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The best known practitioner of the art form is British taxidermist Walter Potter who displayed his pieces–which included such elaborate tableaux as The Death of Cock Robin, The Kitten Wedding, and The Kitten Tea Party–in his own museum of curiosities.

On Tuesday November 15th, please join Morbid Anatomy and taxidermist, tattoo artist and educator Susan Jeiven for a beginners class in anthropomorphic taxidermy. All materials–including a mouse for each student–will be provided, and each class member will leave at the end of the day with their own anthropomorphic taxidermied mouse. Students are invited to bring any miniature items with which they might like to dress or decorate their new friend; some props and miniature clothing will also be provided by the teacher. A wide variety of sizes and colors of mice will be available.

No former taxidermy experience is required.

Also, some technical notes:

• We use NO harsh or dangerous chemicals.
• Everyone will be provided with gloves.
• All animals are disease free.
• Although there will not be a lot of blood or gore, a strong constitution is necessary; taxidermy is not for everyone.
• All animals were already dead, nothing was killed for this class. All mice used are feeder animals for snakes and lizards and would literally be discarded if not sold.
• Please do not bring any dead animals with you to the clas

You can contact Sue with any more questions by clicking here.

An illustrated lecture by Jesse Bransford
Date: Friday, November 4th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $8
Presented by: Phantasmaphile

Magic Squares represent a mathematical convergence of the verbal/syntactical and the visual/compositional. From the simple and elegant Lo Shu sequence from Ancient China to the baroque and heady formulations of the Renaissance magicians, the mystery and fascination of magic squares have a long and interesting cultural history that spans over five thousand years, four continents and dozens of systems of thought.

Referring to recent scholarship on the subject as well as his ten years working with the squares and the systems that developed around them, artist Jesse Bransford will discuss magic squares and all of the wonder, amazement and magic that he finds in the topic.

Bio: A teacher at NYU since 2001, Jesse Bransford also taught at Columbia University for a year before becoming the Director of Undergraduate Study in 2005. Exhibiting widely since 1997, his most recent projects have been solo exhibitions exploring pictorial and visual associations of the observable planets, a series that will eventually result in seven exhibitions.

Recent exhibitions include solo exhibitions in New York (2010), Miami (2009), Toronto (2008), as well as participation in exhibitions in New York ([2011 at Observatory,] 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007), Glasgow (2008), Milwaukee (2007), Los Angeles (2007) and Busan (2008).

Bransford’s work is represented by Feature Inc. in New York, Kevin Bruk Gallery in Miami, Florida, Galerie Schmidt Maczollek in Köln, Germany, and Shaheen Modern and Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Ohio.

Date: Thursday, November 10th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $20 (You must RSVP to phantasmaphile [at] gmail.com if you’d like to attend, as class size is limited)
Presented by: Phantasmaphile

Cocktails, like perfume, are a mix of art and alchemy. In this workshop you’ll learn how to infuse your own spirits to make seasonal and artful cocktails with fresh herbs, spices, nuts, dried fruits and grains. The spirits are then paired with mixers and piqued with the addition of essential oils, which add their own unique accent to these artisanal creations. Samples of angelica, chocolate mint and basil vodka (amongst others) will be passed around along with the cocktails they inspire.

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.

Leonora Carrington "La maja del tarot" 1965

An illustrated lecture by Pam Grossman
Date: Friday, November 18th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $8
Presented by: Phantasmaphile

Though few history books make mention of it, many of our most lauded artists — Picasso, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Duchamp, to name but a few — were deeply influenced by the occult.  The imagery and tenets of arcane traditions including alchemy, Spiritualism, Theosophy, and shamanism have infused the work of artists through the ages.  Beginning with the Symbolists, then spiraling through such periods as Cubism, Dada, Surrealism (with its wonderfully witchy women), Abstract Expressionism, and the visionary art of today, this evening’s lecture will be a visual primer on the existence of magic in our museums and galleries.

Pam Grossman is an independent curator and lifelong student of magical practice and history.  She is the creator of Phantasmaphile, a blog which specializes in art and culture with an esoteric or fantastical bent.  Her group art shows, Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists, VISION QUEST, and Alchemically Yours have been featured by such outlets as Boing Boing, CREATIVE TIME, Time Out New York, Juxtapoz, Arthur, 20×200, UrbanOutfitters.com, and Neil Gaiman’s Twitter.  She is a co-founder of Observatory, where her programming aims to explore mysticism via a scholarly yet accessible approach.  By day, she is the Creative Planning Manager for Getty Images North America.

Date: Sunday, November 6
Time: 1-4 PM
Admission: $60
*** Please RSVP at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com

In today’s class, learn the mummification process as described in the “Egyptian Book of the Dead” (Book of Coming Forth By Day). Instructor Sorceress Cagliastro will guide students in the use of the traditional materials–such as natron salts, canopic jars, oils and herbs, dried flowers and linen or gauze wraps–and traditional ritual–such as ritual of the opening of the mouth–in the creation of an authentic and perfectly respected animal mummy. Each student will leave class with an animal mummy of their own making.

Please note: No animals are harmed or killed for this class; the materials are found already deceased, obtained either from a food service such as a meat market that serves a clientele seeking intact animals, or from a pet feeder supply.

Sorceress Cagliastro has a background as a teacher, author, and forensic reconstructionist. She worked as a trade embalmer and spent many years of work at the office of the Chief Medical Examiner. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband, daughter, and two dogs.

El Jarabe en Ultratumba (The Folk Dance Beyond the Grave), Jose Guadalupe Posada

Date: Saturday, October 22
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $12
Presented by Morbid Anatomy and Borderline Projects

Please join us on Saturday, October 22 for a Halloween/Day of the Dead costume party featuring brand new episodes of Ghoul A Go-Go and The Midnight Archive, as well as burlesque, music, piñata, food, beverages, sugar skulls, a costume contest, and more! Please, please (!!!) come in costume! All costumes welcomed!

The night’s amusements will include:

ENTERTAINMENT!

• Ghoul a Go Go: Premiere of a brand new episode
• The Midnight Archive: Two new episodes of The Midnight Archive, Ronni Thomas’ new web series based on Observatory
• Music: Wavy gravy Halloween music for the all night dance party
• Burlesque: A creepy Burlesque performance by Lil’ Miss Lixx
  

FOOD AND DRINK!

• Traditional Food and Drink Specials throughout the evening
  

COSTUME CONTEST!

• Prizes for costumes inspired by either Vlad, Creighton, The Invisible Man, or any of the clips featured on Ghoul a Go Go

TRADITIONAL DAY OF THE DEAD ATTRACTIONS!

• Day of the Dead Altar: Altar de Muertos, an installation by Rebeca and Salvador Olguin celebrating Mexico and its past, history and culture
• Face painting: Have the Kiss of Death painted on your face by La Catrina
• Pan de Muerto: Indulge in this traditional dessert called Bread of Death
• Piñata: Dash death to smithereens with our annual death piñata!
• Sugar skulls: Decorate and eat or bring home your own Day of the Dead sugar skull
• Offerings to the Departed: In some places in Mexico, people leave small, coffin-like figures out for the souls of the departed. Guests are invited to leave their own offering; they will be available at the installation

Hope to see you there.

Date: Thursday, September 22
Time: 7:30 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy and The Coney Island Museum
***Location: Off-site at The Coney Island Museum (1208 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn)

On an average day in Coney Island around 1900, a visitor might be able to experience: A midget village modeled on 16th century Nuremberg and featuring its own parliament, hotel, stables with midget ponies, vaudeville house, and midget fire department rushing off to put out imaginary fires; A recreation of the destruction of Pompeii by volcano, San Francisco by earthquake, Galveston by flood, and/or Titanic by iceberg; A recreation village of the head-hunting Bontac Tribe of the Philippines with real tribes-people on display; An immersive spectacular which staged tenement fires every half hour and featured a cast of 2,000; A Boer War reenactment featuring real Boer War veterans; A trip to the moon, under the sea, or to heaven and hell by way of being buried alive in a glass coffin; and, as they say, much, much more.

In the exhibition The Great Coney Island Spectacularium, Observatory’s Joanna Ebenstein and artist Aaron Beebe seek–via installation, artifacts, and newly commissioned artworks–to explore, celebrate, and evoke turn of the 20th Century Coney Island as the pinnacle of pre-cinematic immersive and spectacular amusement. The centerpiece of the exhibition is The Cosmorama of the Great Dreamland Fire, an immersive 360 degree spectacle based on the great panoramas and cosmoramas that populated Coney Island in the 19th century. It tells the story–in an immersive blend of image, sound, and light–of the most spectacular disaster in Coney Island history: the complete and dramatic destruction of Dreamland, one of the three great parks that made up turn of the century Coney Island, by fire 100 years ago in 1911. Dreamland was never rebuilt, but had it been, Ebenstein and Beebe are certain it would have given pride of place to a disaster spectacle that allowed visitors to experience the great fire that had once destroyed it. The Cosmorama of the Great Dreamland Fire is their attempt to create this attraction that should have been, and to allow contemporary audiences to experience a 19th century-style immersive spectacle of the sort celebrated in the exhibition.

This Thursday September 22, the crew behind the conception and construction–which include Observatory’s Joanna Ebenstein and Wythe Marschall as well as sound engineers, scenic painters, lighting designers, and artisans from the Metropolitan Opera and other institutions–will be on hand at The Coney Island Museum to discuss the making of the piece, answer your questions, and lead guided tours of the exhibition.

Hokusai's Manga

Illustrated talk with Japanese Scholar Dev Avidon
Date: Thursday, October 6th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy and Oxberry Pegs

In 1988, the anime adaptation of Otomo Katsuhiro’s perennial serialized manga Akira was released in Japan, shattering domestic attendance records for an animated film. Shortly thereafter, its distributor presented it to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg as the ideal anime for English-language adaptation.  The two dismissed it offhand, deeming the very concept of a cerebral, macabre, challenging animated film as “completely unmarketable” in the United States. Animation in America was the sole purview of children, they reckoned, and throughout the 90s, those few anime that were adapted for the American market were heavily edited to remove any and all controversy or ‘adult’ themes, thus rendering them safe for Saturday mornings. In 2001, however, Disney took a chance, bringing a largely faithful, unedited translation of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away to theaters. It was an astounding success, enjoying uniform critical acclaim and record profits for a foreign animated film, and sparking an unprecedented interest in anime and manga in America.

A decade later, with anime and manga’s popularity in the United States at an all time high, Dev Avidon will present a brief history and overview of the two forms, and examine their provenance in 17th and 18th century Japanese pictorial narratives such as the Kibyoshi – arguably the first graphic novel in human history. What spawned anime and manga as media, and what defines them? How did their visual and narrative tropes and themes evolve from both a Japanese cultural tradition dating back as early as the 9th century, and a cross-pollination and interplay with Western art and animation styles during the 19th and 20th centuries? And how can we, as American viewers, reconcile our preconceptions of the ‘cartoon’ and ‘comic book’ with the realities of two artistic forms that, collectively, account for over half of all visual media produced in Japan annually?

Dev Avidon is a Brooklyn-based jazz composer/singer, sound engineer, small business owner and Japanese scholar. During his time in the Government and East Asian Languages and Civilizations departments at Harvard University he specialized in Japanese neo-nationalism and Japanese popular art, from the ukiyo-e and kibyoshi forms of the Edo period through the modern day Neopop and Superflat movements. His thesis for the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University, Allegories of the Empty Center: A study of Modern Japanese Nationalism explores how Japanese neo-nationalism as exemplified in cultural movements such as Superflat problematizes the core tenets of modern nationalist theory. He also played an instrumental role in the founding and cataloging of the anime and manga collections at the Harvard Yenching Library. A well-published author and scholar, Dev Avidon’s current focus is on his upcoming sophomore album, Tears of Men, and melding the hard science of audio technology with the clean lines of Japanese aesthetic design and the artwork of master jewelers with his line of audiophile cables for Frost Audio, a boutique audio company he owns and co-founded in 2010. Visit him at www.devavidon.com or www.frost-audio.com.