Divination as Dialogue
No. 244 - Arts & Letters: Dailies and Hilma's Ghost; Rabbit Hole: Sarah Janes, Catalina Africa, and Jen Liu; Soundings: Talahib, and All Them Witches.
ARTS & LETTERS
Art
Two pieces from my Daily Art Cycle:
I’m taking another look at rule-based art and oracular prompts. It would be fun to incorporate prompts from tarot card draws in my Dailies. I wouldn’t necessarily produce the usual archetypes inspired by Jung, et al., but I’d like to leave the field open for whatever comes up. I’ve noticed when using divination-based prompts that the art I make tends to reflect the “personality” of the source. So it would be interesting to see what comes up with tarot.
When I used geomantic divination (with dice), I produced surreal landscape images like the first image above, and “Geomancy 4” below:
A description of an exhibition, “Tarot and automatism in the art of Hilma af Klint” (Hill-Stead Museum) led me to the work of two abstract artists inspired by artist and mystic Hilma af Klint: Dannielle Tegeder and Sharmistha Ray show you how “far out” you can get with this approach. They have created a feminist art collective called “Hilma’s Ghost.”1
As Ray mentions in the video below, they work to address “existing art historical gaps by cultivating a global network of women, non-binary and trans practitioners whose art addresses spirituality.” The result has been major exhibits and art installations, such as the beautiful “Abstract Futures” mosaic mural in New York City’s Grand Central Station. Here’s an interview with them on how they create art and curate exhibits:
Tegeder and Sharmistha discuss their “Cosmic Geometries” exhibition (including 25 artists) curated through the use of their Abstract Tarot Deck:
Author Benebell Wen offers her review of the Abstract Futures Tarot Deck.
Sharmistha Ray on Sigil + Thought-form drawings.
RABBIT HOLE
Author and lucid dreamer Sarah Janes writes about “ornithomancy and the oracular orifice.”2
Catalina Africa’s art work incorporates awareness of ecosystems, and divination as dialogue:
When you are in divination with something, you are kind of having a conversation with unseen forces, one might say; painting as not coming solely from me as an individual artist, but ‘me’ being a conduit for other energies to express itself through me. — Catalina Africa
Jen Liu is an artist who researches the Chinese American women’s labor in the 19th-20th century; in the process, she became fascinated with hairdos and their significance. More recently, she’s taking a close look at experiences of migration and deportation:
SOUNDINGS
Philippine folk and music collective Talahib performs “Babaylan”3 live in the Wish 107.5 Radio Bus in Manila:
All Them Witches perform “Mountain”4 in a live concert.
God bless our mother, the mountain
She filled all the holes gathered in my eyes
God bless our mother, the mountain
She filled all the holes gathered in my eyes
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My thanks and appreciation go to the Mysterious M. for editing support and expertise.
My website and blog: Jeanvengua.com
A Crooked Mile (on mobility and being carless)
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Another influence on their work are the writings and art of Austin Osman Spare
“Ornithomancy” is a term I’ve never heard of until now!
“Babaylan” lyrics and music by Antonio “Tony” M.L.B. Palis.
“Mountain” by All Them Witches was written by Charles Michael Parks, Jr., Ben McLeod, Robby Staebler & Allan Van Cleave.