Photography and the Invisible - An Illustrated Presentation & Hands On Kirlian Photography Experiment with Shannon Taggart

Kirlian images of 4 thumbs by Shannon Taggart

Date: Friday, January 11th

Time: 8pm

Admission: $10

Presented by: Shannon Taggart & Ralph Smith

The invention of photography occurred when the existence of a variety of invisible forces were being scientifically proven. Distant communication was happening with the telegraph, the unseen energy of radiation was discovered, magical x-rays were produced and worlds within worlds were being revealed via microscopes and telescopes. During this era of possibility, photography was used in attempts to illustrate thoughts and feelings, to verify the existence of a universal life force and to manifest proof of the soul.
This presentation will begin with an overview of early camera-less photographic experimentation including the evolution of what is now known as the Kirlian photography process. We will then set up a Kirlian device and everyone will have a chance to have their hands photographed. The results of this experiment will be compared and everyone will receive their image.
Shannon Taggart is a photographer based in Brooklyn and a member of Observatory. She is deeply interested in the intrinsic connection between photography and the immaterial. Since 2001, she has been working on a project about Modern Spiritualism. Her images have appeared in publications including The New York Times Magazine, Blind Spot, Tokion and TIME. Her photographs have been shown at Photoworks in Brighton, England, The Photographic Resource Center in Boston, Redux Pictures in New York, the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles.

Kinema ikon’s Esoteric Underground, Romania 1970-1989: An Illustrated Presentation by Ileana Selejan

Rodica Valentin & Iosif Stroia, 1983

Date: Friday, December 7th

Time: 8pm

Admission: $5

Presented by: Shannon Taggart

With supplies salvaged from their day jobs as filmmakers during the Ceauşescu regime, kinema ikon produced sixty-two 16mm films between 1970 and 1989. Their work is a prime example of the avant-garde art resistance movements operating within the confines of the totalitarian state. Kinema ikon’s interdisciplinary approach to art and technology was a counterpoint to the single channel, linear modus operandi of the communist apparatus. Despite the significance of their art, it has rarely been shown or seen.

Ileana Selejan will talk about her personal experience of coming to know some of the members of kinema ikon and her introduction to their archive. While sharing their work, Ileana will discuss its subversive aesthetic foundations and how it has the power and potential to revise the memory of repression.

 Ileana Selejan is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Fine Arts, at New York University. She is writing a dissertation on esthetics and the representation of war in contemporary photography. Originally from Romania, Ileana has lived and worked in New York for the past 5 years.

How To Trespass: An illustrated lecture on the logistics and ethics of trespassing with urban explorer N.D. Austin

***PLEASE NOTE LOCATION CHANGE

Gemini & Scorpio Loft

Date: Tuesday, January 8th

Time: 8pm

Admission: $10 *** Includes Custom Cocktail

Presented by: Shannon Taggart ,  Wanderlust Projects & Gemini & Scorpio

Have you ever wondered what’s in the Domino Sugar factory? What the view from the top of the Brooklyn Bridge must be like? With special attention to abandoned, neglected, or fantastical places, explorer N.D. Austin will talk about his experiences getting inside, over, under, on top of and around. A brief history of urban exploration will lead to a discussion of the legality and ethics of trespassing. Also covered: culture jamming, DIY creative placemaking, how not to get shot, and how to avoid ‘ruin porn’.
N.D. Austin grew up in the Alaskan bush where there are no fences.