Artist's Statement

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Originally uploaded by babajiwotan.

Magic is fascinating. By ‘magic’ I don’t only mean the art of stage magicians who pull rabbits out of hats and tricks of illusion but also the metaphysical principle of being able to cause change to occur in conformity to will according to the acclaimed occultist Alesteir Crowley’s definition. Can there be anything more exciting than the possibility of controlling the world around us through our thoughts alone?

While studying the Fine Arts and Art History I discovered that many prominent modern artists, as well as many so-called primitive artists have held the same interest in the study of occult, esoteric and metaphysical phenomenon. I observed that the details of what exactly occult knowledge means is often omitted or glossed over in most art history books.

I wanted to know more so I kept searching and came across a small collection of books that describe the teachings of modern day occult clubs or lodges. At the same time I found two relatively recent books by Canadian art historians that were tackling the issue of the metaphysical and occult in modern art: The Logic of Ecstasy by Ann Davis (1992) and Surrealism and the Sacred by Ann Rabinovitch (2002).

The longer I simultaneously learned about the history of fine art and the history of metaphysics and the occult the more I observed similarities between the modern day artist and the modern day occultist. They both gather together in tight cliques on auspicious occasions, they both perform strange rituals that sometimes seem bizarre to the uninitiated, and they both create weird and wonderful objects and drawings.

My goal is to make a holistic analysis of the connection between art and philosophy. Specifically, how have modern and so-called primitive artists been influenced by metaphysical and occult philosophies? Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principle of things, including such concepts as being, knowing, substance, essence, cause, identity, time, and space. These same principles have been of great interest to many artists throughout history who have tried to express their ideas through the creative process. There are many schools of thought that can be considered branches or offshoots of metaphysics: magic and the occult, mysticism, shamanism, eastern philosophies, and alchemy.