Title: Das Eismeer aus Licht NASA Astronomy Photo of the Day, Feb 8, 2011 Image Credit: © Charles Stankievech + Anna Sophie Springer, 2011 Questions + Requests for permission for publication: studio@stankievech.net

Sunday, May 20
7pm
$5 admission

Lecture and audiovisual presentation by Charles Stankievech

Over the Rainbow, Under the Radar is an audiovisual presentation of artist Charles Stankievech’s experience of the Arctic as a hybrid zone of brute reality and fantasy projection. Combining archival material, scientific theories, geopolitical maps and the artist’s own fieldworks, the lecture engages ideas of military colonialism and communication technology embedded in the sublime landscape. Stemming from Stankievech’s time living in Northern Canada and travelling to remote military outposts, Over the Rainbow draws from primary research ranging from his visit to the archives at Massachusetts’s Institute of Technology as well as a residency with the Canadian Department of National Defense at the northernmost settlement in the world (the Signals Intelligence Station ALERT). The resulting material includes images and video taken by the artist published by NASA and commissioned by the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, as well as shown in museums and galleries from Palais de Toyko, Paris to the Musee d’art Contemporain in Montréal. The lecture was originally commissioned for the Phyllis Lambert Seminar 2011 at Université de Montréal.

This event is co-presented by Observatory and SP Weather Station. For more information visit: SP Weather Station

Date: Friday, June 8th

Time: 7:30

Admission: $12

Presented by Atlas Obscura

New York City was the birthplace of American cinema with the earliest animated films created in the 1910s. This edition of The Tom Stathes Cartoon Carnival features selections of early and wacky animated cartoons created right here in New York City. Tom’s show, comprising oddities from the 1910s through 1940s, is presented in 16mm form with a projector–the technology serving as part of the spectacle–in order to demonstrate how film was meant to be enjoyed. Cinephiles, cartoon and comic fans and lovers of all things vintage are sure to enjoy a Cartoon Carnival!

Please keep in mind films of an early vintage tend to contain politically incorrect themes. Themes in the films do not reflect the sentiments of the exhibitor or the host venue. Due to the age and fragile nature of antique film prints, there may be momentary technical difficulties during the screening.

Tom Stathes is a Cartoon Cryptozoologist, with a rare film print collection comprised of over 1,000 shorts. His archive consists of everything from Felix the Cat and Farmer Alfalfa to silent reels from Bray Studios and Out of the Inkwell. A native-New Yorker, he turned his passion for the city’s animation legacy into a preservation mission. With his Bray Animation Project, he has worked with several film and comic historians to document the studios invaluable output. For more information go to cartoonsonfilm.com or brayanimation.weebly.com

“Historians digging into the archives to reconstruct the chronicle of the Twentieth Century will have to deal with this strange phenomenon of Erik Jan Hanussen, born Herschmann Steinschneider in the humble home of a poor Jewish actor in Vienna. It will be their task to unravel a complex maze of reality and legend, myth and romance, to reach the core of the true personality of Steinschneider, alias Hanussen, and his influence on one of the most significant chapters of European history, the ascent and reign of Adolf Hitler.”
–Pierre van Paassen, Redbook Magazine, “The Date of Hitler’s Fall,” May 1942

When Pierre van Paassen, the prominent Dutch author and foreign correspondent, wrote the above for McCall’s Redbook Magazine, the “amazing exploits of Erik Jan Hanussen” were still hot international filler. What could have been more titillating than the true and enigmatic story of a Jewish mystic who helped usher in the Third Reich before  becoming one of its first victims?

Tonight, join Mel Gordon–author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant–for an illustrated lecture on the amazing story of Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant featuring a special screening of “lost” film footage from Hanussen’s 1919 “Hypnosis: Hanussen’s First Adventure,” a Caligari-like story of sex magic and the occult, and other documentary sources. Books will also be available for sale and signing.

Mel Gordon is the author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant, Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror, Voluptious Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin, and many other books. Voluptious Panic was the first in-depth and illustrated book on the topic of erotic Weimar; The lavish tome was praised by academics and inspired the establishment of eight neo-Weimar nightclubs as well as the Dresden Dolls and a Marilyn Manson album. Now, Mel Gordon is completing a companion volume for Feral House Press, entitled Horizontal Collaboration: The Erotic World of Paris, 1920-1946. He also teaches directing, acting, and history of theater at University of California at Berkeley.

Date: Friday, May 25, 2012
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: FREE
Presented by: the Hollow Earth Society

The Organism for Poetic Research consists of exactly what its name says it does. The publication PELT constitutes its epidermal organ, its interface with the world. Operating at the crux of empirical and humanist methodologies, fascinated with differentiation, the OPR has been studying the problem of the Skin of Space as an important political effort.

This event marks the release of the first volume of PELT, titled ‘The Skin of Space,’ and heralds the occasion with the presentation of additional field and lab reports on the subject, in the form of poetry, lecture, and findings presented in printed graphic arts.

Lytle Shaw is the author of Cable Factory 20 (Atelos), Frank O’Hara: The Poetics of Coterie, articles on Smithson, and the forthcoming Specimen Box (Periscope) and Fieldworks: From Place to Site in Postwar Poetry (Univ. Alabama Press). He is associate Prof. of English at NYU.

Ed Keller is Associate Dean of Distributed Learning and Technology and Associate Professor, School of Design Strategies, at the New School. He is also a co-founder with Carla Leitao of AUM Studio, an award winning architecture and new media firm, and his work and writing has appeared in Praxis, ANY, AD, Arquine, Leonardo Electronic Almanac, Architecture, Parpaings, Precis, Wired, Metropolis, Assemblage, Ottagono, and Progressive Architecture.

Jeff T. Johnson’s poetry is forthcoming or has appeared in 1913 a journal of forms, dandelion magazine, Slope, and Whiskey & Fox, among other publications. Critical essays have appeared in The Rumpus, Coldfront, Sink Review, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn, is Editor in Chief at LIT, and edits Dewclaw. He is currently working on LIVE FROM THE VOID, a typographic projection digitally rendered in architectural model space. For more information, visit jefftjohnson.wordpress.com.

Daniel C. Remein and Ada Smailbegović are colleagues as Ph.D. candidates in the English department at NYU, and are co-founders, with Rachael Wilson, of the Organism for Poetic Research.

BF Bifocals is a collective that does contemporary design, free.

Gracie Leavitt’s recent work can be found in The Brooklyn Review, Conjunctions, LIT, Sentence, SET, and elsewhere. Transatlantic collaborations appear in Whiskey & Fox’s series “Parks and Occupation.” She hails from the home of the land-locked salmon.

Wax votives by Sigrid Sarda, the teacher of today's workshop.

Anatomical Wax Votive Making Workshop with Artist Sigrid Sarda
Date: Sunday, June 24
Time: 10 AM - 4 PM
Admission: $145 (includes $63 materials fee)
*** Limited class size; Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

The Votive: Expressing or symbolizing a wish, desire, or vow; Offered, given, undertaken, performed or dedicated in fulfillment of or in accordance with a vow.

Anatomical votives–or replicas of diseased body parts left at a holy place either in hopes of curing ailments or in gratitude for having been healed–have been widely utilized since ancient times. Common media for votives have included terra cotta, marble, silver, and, our personal favorite, wax. In this class, expert wax worker and artist Sigrid Sarda will teach students to create an uncannily lifelike wax votive of the body part of their choice. Each student will leave class with a finished wax votive as well as a knowledge of mold making, wax craft, and the history and meaning of the anatomical votive.

Students are encouraged to focus on an afflicted body part for which they seek relief, or, if they are lacking any unfortunate ailments–be it an ear ache, psoriasis, or that pesky cutaneous horn–to choose a body part that is symbolic to them in anticipation of a particular wish or prayer. Symbolic meanings include the hand which traditionally equates to justice, strength, pledge of faith, power or sincerity, and the foot equating to humility and respect. If that doesn’t suffice we’ll make one up as we go along.

Using an ancient formula created by practitioners of wax modeling, you will create an object for your prayer. The steps taken to reach the desired goal are: first, casting your body part into alginate and creating a negative mold; second, pouring wax into the mold; and finally, demold and clean your votive.

The class will begin with a short talk on the history of votives followed by casting the the body part of your choice. Next, we will take a short break for lunch. following which we will de-mold and clean your lovely wax votive. Please dress casually (it’s a bit messy and very fun). All you need is to bring yourself. All materials are provided, and you get to leave class with your very own votive.

Sigrid Sarda is self taught in the art of ceroplastics. She has been featured on such programs as The Midnight Archive and will be appearing on TV’s Oddities this June. She will be showing her work in London this fall. You can find out more here, here and here.

Life masks by Sigrid Sarda, teacher of today's workshop.

Life and Death Mask Making Workshop with Artist Sigrid Sarda
Date: Sunday, June 3
Time: 10 AM - 4 PM
Admission: $100 (includes $40 materials fee)
*** Limited class size; Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

For many centuries and in many civilizations, artisans have created what are called “Life Masks” or “Death Masks” cast from the faces of the famous or the infamous to preserve their likeness–living or dead–for posterity. In this class, students will learn to create their very own Life Masks working with alginate–a non-toxic seaweed-based mold making product that is easy on the skin–and plaster. Students will pair up and cast one another, but don’t be alarmed; the workshop’s instructor Ms. Sarda assures us that you will love this experience, and that most everyone who has been cast comes out feeling relaxed to the point of jello, with the extra insentive of a free facial. All materials are included, and each student will leave class home with their face immortalized in plaster.

The day’s schedule:

• Partnering up and casting
• Adding plaster to the negative mold
• An hour break for lunch (give or take depending on how fast the plaster dries)
• Demolding and cleaning the cast
• Touching up any imperfections in the plaster cast

Warning: If you are someone who is extremely claustrophobic, this is not for you. Dress casually and have fun!

Sigrid Sarda is self taught in the art of ceroplastics. She has been featured on such programs as The Midnight Archive and will be appearing on TV’s Oddities this June. She will be showing her work in London this fall. You can find out more here, here and here.

***IN MANHATTAN at The Cornelia Street Cafe as part of the HUMAN+ series***

Date: Wednesday, May 30
Time: 6:00–8:00 PM
Admission: $10, includes one drink
Presented by the Hollow Earth Society

“Genius” is the category we have peopled with exceptional humans—beings who have revolutionized every area of endeavor throughout the ages. Our collective fascination with genius has spawned studies, books, workshops, exercises, and how-tos, all claiming that we each have a genius inside of us. It is time for a musical cautionary tale, a tale of genius at the dawn of the technological revolution.

In 1919, Lev Sergeivitch Termen, known throughout the world as Leon Theremin, invented the first synthesizer. Originally dubbed the Aetherphone, the Theremin remains the only musical instrument played without being touched. His genius did not stop there. A prodigious inventor and visionary, he went on to revolutionize the fields of communications, surveillance, and even Macy’s window displays.

Theremin suffered (and miraculously survived) the pitfalls that brought down many of history’s geniuses, a classic combination of volatile personality traits, poor judgement, and the striking of an almost Faustian bargain with those in a position to help him.

In addition to his own story, we’ll observe how Theremin’s creation has influenced the lives and career trajectories of contemporary electronic music’s geniuses such as synthesizer pioneers Dr. Robert Moog and Don Buchla, Theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, and legendary composers Wendy Carlos and Morton Subotnick.

Kip Rosser is considered one of the most accomplished thereminists playing today, performing his solo concerts and collaborating with musicians around the world. For reviews, photos, music samples, and upcoming performances please visit www.performancekr.com.

***

About the series:

Cornelia Street Cafe and Observatory present a series of Observatory talks in the borough of Manhattan: HUMAN+ (You’ll Be Partly Plastic When You Die): Lectures on posthumanism, machine music, transhumanism, and machine love. These talks will introduce Observatory to a new audience and give presenters the opportunity to update their work.

Produced by the Hollow Earth Society and Ted Enik. Originally produced at Observatory. Thanks to our hosts, Cornelia Street Cafe, and our presenters: Kip Rosser, Laura Duncan, and Salvador Olguín.

Symbols reverberate with power. They are not just mere markings. Instead they convey and radiate magical forces. Because of this, symbols are among our oldest and most potent magical tools. Their use spans the globe, as well as a vast spectrum of spiritual and esoteric traditions.

Magical symbols include seals and sigils– Kabbalistic and otherwise, Egyptian symbols, such as the ankh and the “girdle” of Isis, the Congo Cross, glyphs, runes, vèvè, alchemical, Masonic, fertility, Adinkra, and hex signs.

Symbols serve virtually unlimited magical uses. They are incorporated into amulets, talismans, and mojo bags and used in divination, spirit summoning, and magic spells. The most accessible manner of working with symbols is candle magic.

In this class, we will explore the esoteric power of symbols and how this power is transmitted through candles. The class will begin with a lecture about symbols and will then evolve into a hands-on workshop. Each attendee will have the opportunity to create a magic candle.

Attendees will receive a hand-out of symbols. We will also discuss how to create your own magic symbols to serve your own personal needs and desires.

PLEASE BRING a notebook or paper and something to write with, so that you can take notes.

PLEASE ALSO BRING a candle. The size is up to you, but the larger and more substantial the candle, the more surface space is available for carving symbols into it. Birthday candles and tea lights are too small and tapers tend to break. Pillar and round votive candles are best.

Colors, like symbols, radiate power and a candle’s color is chosen to coordinate with a spell-caster’s goal. Here is a list of traditional color associations, but if you possess your own associations, please trust your intuition:

Black: protection; banishing; fertility; regeneration; healing chronic illness.

Blue: protection; peace; healing emotional, mental or psychic illness; terminating addictions, including smoking.

Brown: justice; legal issues; grounding.

Green: fertility; prosperity; money; healing physical illness and conditions.

Purple: power; sex; erotic love spells.

Red: luck; good fortune; love; fertility; healing blood ailments.

Pink: love; spells benefiting children.

White: ancestral work; contacting those in the Next Realm.

***White candles possess the power of the blank slate and may be substituted for any other color. If in doubt or unsure, bring a white candle.

Judika Illes is an independent scholar, international speaker, educator, and author of books of folklore, folkways, and mythology about the subjects of magic, the occult, divination, diverse spiritual traditions, witchcraft, and the paranormal.  She is the author of four popular encyclopedias: The Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, The Encyclopedia of Spirits, and the new Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints, and Sages. Her other books include Pure Magic: A Complete Course in Spellcasting, Magic When You Need It and The Weiser Field Guide to Witches. Her website is: www.judikailles.com

This event is in conjunction with Observatory’s Sigils & Signs group art show.

Fetal Skeleton Tableau, 17th Century, University Backroom, Paris; From The Secret Museum. © Joanna Ebenstein, 2010

A heavily illustrated lecture by Morbid Anatomy founder Joanna Ebenstein, followed by afterparty featuring thematic music and specialty cocktails by Friese Undine
Date: Friday, July 13 (Friday the 13th!)
Time: 8:00
Admission: $12
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Since 2005, artist, independent scholar and Morbid Anatomist Joanna Ebenstein has travelled the world seeking out–and photographing whenever possible–the most fascinating, curious, and overlooked medical collections and wunderkammern, backstage and front, private and public. In the process, she has amassed not only an astounding collection of images but also a great deal of knowledge about the history and cultural context of these fascinating and uncanny artifacts.

This Friday the Thirteenth, please join us for a heavily illustrated lecture based on this research, followed by a thematic afterparty. In her lecture “Anatomical Venuses, The Slashed Beauty, and Fetuses Dancing a Jig,” Ebenstein will lead you on a highly-illustrated tour of medical museums and introduce you to many of their most curious and enigmatic denizens, including the Anatomical Venus, the Slashed Beauty, the allegorical fetal skeleton tableau (as seen above), the flayed horseman of the apocalypse, and three fetuses dancing a jig. Ebenstein will contextualize these artifacts via a discussion of the history of medical museums and modeling, a survey of great artists of the genre, and an examination of other death-related arts and amusements which made up the cultural landscape at the time that these objects were originally created, collected, and exhibited. Following, please stick around for an afterparty featuring thematic tunes and inventive artisanal cocktails complements of the omni-talented Friese Undine.

Joanna Ebenstein is a multi-disciplinary artist with an academic background in intellectual history. She runs the Morbid Anatomy blog and related open-to-the-public Brooklyn-based Morbid Anatomy Library. She is also the founding member of Observatory, a Brooklyn based arts and events space devoted to the revival of the 18th century notions of the dilettante and rational amusements. Her recent work—which includes photography, curation, installation, blogging, museum consulting, lecturing and writing—centers on anatomical museums and their artifacts, collectors and collecting, curiosities and marvels, 18th and 19th Century natural history and, as the subtitle of her blog states, “surveying the interstices of art and medicine, death and culture.” She has lectured at a variety of popular and academic venues, and her work has been shown and published internationally; she is the current Coney Island Musuem artist in resident, and recent solo exhibitions include The Secret Museum and Anatomical Theatre. You can find out more at her at her website astropop.com and her blog Morbid Anatomy; you can view much of her photography work by clicking here. She can be reached at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.