Tetragrammaton and falafel

Found amidst the graffiti in the restroom at Sultan's Market in Wicker Park.

Local independent Ouija-themed experimental art film

Uzi's Party is a film being produced by local filmmaker and Brain Frame creator Lyra Hill.  As of right now there are 3 days remaining to reach the goal on Kickstarter, and it's not very far from actually happening.

From the Kickstarter page:

Uzi's Party is a film about a sleepover, a séance, and the singular aesthetic capabilities of 16mm film.

Five girls gather to hang out and commune with a Ouija board. The host, Uzi (short for Fairuza) tries to keep things in order while her party goes awry. After a short session with the Ouija board, one of the girls is no longer herself - or is she?

The girls in Uzi's Party will all be played by the same actress. And the footage will be shot in-camera, via matting, multiple exposure, and body doubles. What will begin as a stylized, strange (and funny) teen drama will eventually become a disturbing, complex inquiry into possession, identity, and the psychology of young women. As the story progresses, the visual logic will slowly fall apart until you, like the girls in the film, are no longer sure what's real and what's not.

Of particular interest to those of you following Occult Chicago, the $200 pledge gift:

$200: Sacred objects made by Pagan priestesses

I am blessed to have grown up in a tradition that worships the Earth and the Divine Feminine, and even luckier to have this community donate artwork to Uzi's Party, my own mystical project. 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1877334389/uzis-party-an-experimental-teen-drama-on-16mm-film

Hocus Pocus art show, March 24th

Tangentially on topic, this may be of interest to some readers.  Tomorrow (Sunday, March 24th).

Please join us for a spectacular art show and side show attractions.


HOCUS POCUS

The Flat Iron

1565 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60622

 

Over 60 artists
Magicians/Zoltar
Aerial Burlesque by the lovely Angela Eve
Palm Reader Mister Vibe
Tarot Card Reader
Music by Dee Pants
Wheel of Fortune Fortitude
The artwork, jewelry and crafts for sale will all be inspired by Harry Houdini, Victorian magic, circus sideshow, the occult and all things mystical.
Curated by Cheri Basak and Anne Elliott
Sponsored by Revolution Tattoo

Facebook event page

Chicago-based Tarot art Kickstarter

A new collaborative Tarot themed project just announced.

From the Kickstarter page:

The Major Arcana are the most emotionally evocative cards in a tarot deck.  How would an artist and a tarot reader explore these archetypes through the photographic medium?

Lara Dorsett is a photographer and artist who employs intuition and mythology in her personal work.  Jeffrey Kramer is a tarot reader with a background in medieval traditions and lore.

This project will involve the first nine cards in the Major Arcana:  The Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot and Strength. 

Lara and Jeffrey will each shoot in black and white film and be challenged to create all of these images in the Chicagoland area.  They will only use props and materials created or found with volunteer models (when used.)

The resulting work will be shown in a local space with free admission for guests.
The successful completion of this project will result in further exploration of the remaining Major Arcana.

For more information, visit:

Kickstarter page

Lara Elizabeth Dorsett's photography website

A bit of self-promotion: Magical Calendar art project

I said that I wouldn't do this very often, but honestly the things I research and post on Occult Chicago entwine themselves with my artwork enough that I have a hard time separating them at times.  And to be honest, I thought that this project would be of interest to the readers of Occult Chicago.

I'm working on a year-long Magical Calendar project, focusing on themes of magic in the year of 2013.  This stems from my obsession with the De Croze/Orazi Calendrier Magique made for 1897.

I'm releasing one limited edition fine art print each month, and have just released the image for January.

This is a detail of LILITH, the January image.  The original hand colored / painted silver print is being reproduced as a museum quality archival pigment print, signed and numbered in an edition of only 13.

For more information about the calendar project, visit my artwork blog.

To purchase this print, visit my online store.

Thank you,

Rik

Art show tonight

Another shameless bit of self promotion as I remind everyone that I have a one night art exhibition tonight.

Please stop by and say hello if you are free.

Facebook event invitation
My art website

Thank you again for following Occult Chicago!

Hauntology: OPC Seminar Exhibition, June 7

I don't know much about this exhibition - the actual link to the esoteric may be completely academic.  Still I thought it may be of interest to some readers.

Link to more information on Artslant.

Facebook event page

Black Arts - group exhibition at Roxaboxen

Image taken from Roxaboxen Gallery's blog - artist unknown

"Black Arts is a collection of work celebrating women artists as ushers of this fertile season and intuitive interpreters of their environment. Referencing Neo-pagan traditions, where women are beacons of spring renewal, this show offers a medley of stalwart individuals whose work is a reflection of their unique character and strives for authentic thinking."

ARTISTS:

SARAH MOSK, CAROLINE CARLSMITH, REBECCA BEACHY, LAUREN EDWARDS, SOPHIA CARA FRYDMAN DIXON, EMILY GREEN, LAUREN BECK, ROBIN HUSTLE, ELLEN NIELSEN, MEG NOE, JENNY KENDLER, MELISSA DEMASAUKAS, ALEX CHITTY, MEGAN DIDDIE,CAROLINE PICARD. 

CURATED BY LIZ MCCARTHY

On exhibition through June 2nd by appointment, 130 w 21st St. 

The Chicago Weekly also had a nice writeup of this group exhibition here:  http://chicagoweekly.net/2012/05/10/black-magic-women/ 


Special thanks to Green Lantern Gallery for sending this information my direction via Twitter.  If you know of local occult themed art exhibitions or other items of interest, please send them my way!

Johnny Decker Miller

Johnny Decker Miller is a Chicago based artist whose work is currently on display at Swim Cafe.

The current exhibition is titled Le Mystere Lycnthropique. 

Images taken from the artist's blog.

Agartha

 

 Chapbook of Miller's automatic drawings, Smoke Oracles.  I saw this for sale at Alchemy Arts.

Chicago artist Elijah Burgher

Local artist Elijah Burgher has already been mentioned on Occult Chicago on at least two separate occasions, so it seemed time to dedicate a post to him.

Burgher works with tools such as sigilization to produce magical-personal works of art.  He has recently shown at Western Exhibitions (at the same time as Black Thorns in the White Cube) and as part of Homoccult & Other Esoterotica.

Build Better Human Beings

Anal Swastika (Recruiter Version)

Ghost Vomit

Black Mirror

All images taken from Burgher's blog, Ghost Vomit.  He is also on Tumblr.

Chicago artist Corkey Sinks

Corkey Sinks was mentioned in the previous entry on Chicago's Occult Artists.  Last night I saw some of her work at the MFA Exhibition at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  My eye was caught by the angular candles and a bookshelf (the nerdy part of me instantly noticed a copy of Richard Cavendish's The Black Arts).

From the artist's website

"The research branched into the lives of celebrities, Mia Farrow, Anton LaVey, the Manson Family, Kenneth Anger, the Beatles, Gerald Ford, etc. and the occult, building upon the American-centric imagination of a hidden evil." (From this interview with Stephanie Cristello)

The Graduate Exhibition is open until May 16th.  Visit the site for more information.

Update: Homoccult & Other Esoterotica

It was recently pointed out in response to my previous post regarding Homoccult & Other Esoterotica that they are having gallery hours this Saturday 4/28. And there is a closing reception on 5/11 at 7 pm.  Great news!

Visit the HOMOCCULT website for more information

CF Russell, Sex Magick and Fine Arts

I mentioned CF Russell in my previous post regarding the Occult Digest, and promised that I would devote an entire post to him.  This is a fascinating subject in relation to Chicago's history, the history of the occult and the local gay community that worked in esoteric circles locally in the early 20th century.  Needless to say, someone could write an amazing essay/book/thesis on the subject.  This is my attempt to show the tip of the iceberg.


Cecil Frederick Russell (1897-1987) was at first an ardent follower of Aleister Crowley.  After getting dishonorably discharged from the US Navy, Russell stayed at Crowley's Abbey of Thelema briefly, where the two fought and parted ways.  Russell (who Crowley referred to as having a "violent reaction against any act of authority") then founded his own order, the Choronzon Club, in 1928. Some sources say that Crowley suggested that he The Choronzon Club changed its name to G.B.G. in 1931 - it is often believed stand for "Great Brotherhood of God," though apparently Russell was evasive regarding the meaning of the acronym. 



Dues were only $5, and if a new member got a friend to enroll then they were able to keep half of this amount.


Russell put out advertisements in the Occult Digest, which he also wrote several articles for:

A shortcut to Initiation

The Choronzon Club

Box Chicago, 111

Naturally there are those who disagree with any idea of "shortcut," so Russell raised some eyebrows with what some called "abbreviated rituals" (though they may have just been jealous of his quickly growing numbers due to the fast track and low dues).  "For his first few months of membership the initiate of the G.B.G. was kept in ignorance of its sexual-magical affiliations and were only revealed to him (or her) after he had satisfactorily completed a course of occult training devised by Russell" (Francis King, "Sexuality Magic & Perversion").  This course can be found online as a PDF very easily.

 "But in 1933 a schism broke out in Russell's ranks; a meeting was held
 on the 8th floor of 410 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, with the
 object of forming a group consisting exclusively of homosexual men (the
 basis on which all contemporary XI° groups are founded). Eventually
 four groups could be distinguished as springing from Russell's initial
 foundation... 

"The remaining members in Chicago, who had been an
 exclusively XI° group for some time, had held their meetings at 64 East Van Buren
 Street since 1941 independently of Russell; in the 1960s they returned
 to Michigan Avenue."

(http://parareligion.ch/sunrise/xi.htm)

For those not aware, XI° was the anal sexual magick degree of Crowley's formulated for the O.T.O.  

Those of you who are paying attention will recognize the 410 South Michigan Avenue address as being the Fine Arts building.  The building how houses artist studios, several music instructors, a Kundalini Yoga studio and others.  There is an art walk on the 2nd Friday of every month.  The building was built in 1885 and at one point housed a number of Theosophical groups, among other things.  If you wander through the building, it's easy to feel some of the earlier roots.

entrance

Prepare for an obligatory elevator ride with a human elevator operator.

 Murals on the top (10th) floor.

 staircase finials

8th floor, as mentioned previously

also on the 8th floor

Selected Works bookstore on the 2nd floor - these are only the discount books outside of the entrance.  They have a cat that roams the stacks, and if you look you can find books that were originally part of different Theosophical / esoteric groups.

Many of Russell's writings can be found online here:  http://cfrussell.homestead.com/files/intro.htm

All of the information in this post taken from:

1.  XI°: Anal Intercourse and the Ordo Templi Orientis - http://parareligion.ch/sunrise/xi.htm

2. Sexuality, Magic & Perversion, Francis King

3. Magick - The Order of the GBG (online PDF)

Black Thorns in the White Cube

Unfortunately this show ended right before I started this blog.  Chicago curator Amelia Ishmael curated this art exhibition relating to black metal culture.  "Esoteric symbols of the occult and strange ceremonies" filed the exhibition (quote by Flavorwire).

Photograph by Tereza Zelenkova, courtesy the artist's website

"Black Thorns in the White Cube" exhibited locally at Western Exhibitions.  Artists included:  Alexander Binder, Vincent Como, Terence Hannum, Karlynn Holland, Elodie Lesourd, Aaron Mette, Christophe Szpajdel, Grant Willing and Tereza Zelenkova.

Works left to right by Aaron Mette and Terence Hannum.  Photograph courtesy Western Exhibitions.

information

photographs

Chicago's Occult Artists

An article by from Chicago Art Magazine by Chicago local Stephanie Cristello.

http://chicagoartmagazine.com/2011/10/a-bare-sleight-of-hand-chicago’s-occult-artists/

"...from reference to occult superstition, mysticism, alchemy, and ritualistic processes, many young Chicago artists have cultivated a niche of counterculture aesthetics that are rapidly gaining popularity."

Includes mention of Corkey Sinks, Elijah Burgher and Ivan Lozano.

Elijah Burgher, No Irreversible Sentences.