September 10 2020

For immediate release

EXHIBTION EXTENDED THROUGH MID FEBRUARY 2021!!

BUCKLAND MUSEUM OF WITCHCRAFT AND MAGICK and stephen ROMANO gallery present

Unknown photographer circa 1920's


“APPARITIONS”

featuring works by

William Hope + William Mortensen + Kenyon Cox + Richard Boursnell + Falconer Brothers

John Myers + Jack Edwards + Romeyn de Hooghe + Jacques Callot + Fritz Gareis + John Everard

Dolorosa De La Cruz + Luciana Lupe Vasconcelos + Nahw Yg + Attributed to Johann Georg Gichtel

Daniel Gonçalves + Alexis Karl + Barry William Hale + Kim Bo Yung + Darcilio Lima + Eugène le Poitevin

Josh Stebbins + Wolfgang Grasse + Karl Koh + Shannon Taggart + Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Anonymous and unknown artists and makers


BUCKLAND MUSEUM OF WITCHCRAFT AND MAGICK is pleased to announce an exhibition of important vintage spirit photography, prints and drawings and contemporary art on the subject of ghosts, spirits and the paranormal from the collection of stephen ROMANO gallery. The exhibition will open on October 1 2020 and continue through MID FEBRUARY (updated!) at the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick in Cleveland Ohio.

The exhibition is inspired by a 3D virtual exhibition produced by stephen ROMANO gallery which received an overwhelmingly strong response as an engaging alternative to visiting a gallery in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

APPARITIONS 3D Virtual exhibition at KUNSTMATRIX. click "enter exhibition".

This exhibition is the third collaboration between the museum and stephen ROMANO gallery. Previous projects have included “WILLIAM MORTENSEN'S WITCHES”, an exhibition of the 1920's visionary photographer's occult themed works, and “BARRY WILLIAM HALE”, which featured the renowned Australian esoteric artist's first solo exhibition in the USA. The which was recently featured on “monsterbrains”, “one of the greatest websites in the world according to director Guillermo Del Toro and in the Jennifer Lauren “collector series”.

Steven Intermill, the director of the Buckland Museum says “We are always excited when Romano comes knocking and lets us play with his toys, his collection is a vast well of the history of the arcane. These works are striking and beautiful, a must see for those that just have a passing interest in metaphysics to the lifelong student of the occult.”

Curator and collector Stephen Romano explains his interest in occult imagery..

"I’ve had an interest in the esoteric and occult since my early teenage years, studying the works of Aleister Crowley, Anton LaVey, Robert Fludd, Eliphas Lévi, Dion Fortune, Carlos Castaneda, the amazing poet, author and collector Manly Palmer Hall, Jack Parsons, among many others. When I was 19 I met a true sorcerer who became my mentor and still is to this day, the British artist Ray Robinson. I don’t have any kind of practice, just daily prayers and rituals for protection and hopefully affluence. "

Romano continues.. "The art of the esoteric though is very interesting to me. I have a modest collection of grimoires which most notably includes two different editions of “Doktor Johannes Faust's Magia Naturalis et Innaturalis”, one of which seems to have been used in ceremony. To hold a special magic book in your hands… it’s a primary experience that we hopefully don’t lose in our time of instantaneous access and gratification. In a manner of speaking to me, it’s what the whole essence of collecting should be, to give us access to a higher order, a true primary experience which refreshes the psyche and enriches our quality of life. This experience is accessible to anyone who decides to pick up and follow an obsession and see where it takes them"

"The artist as a practitioner of witchcraft… it’s a loaded term. I see this as the artists who were effective at bringing change unto the world. Darcilio Lima (1944 - 1991) for instance, is a Brazilian artist I have interest in. He considered his works as spells for protection against malevolent forces, and gifted that protection to the person who would acquire that work and live with it. This is the true magic."

"To me Visual Art is the jewel in the crown of our cultural achievements.. The greatest reward is sharing our collections with others to inspire awe in them as well."

 

for further information please contact

stephen romano at romanostephen@gmail.com

and

Steven Intermill at Bucklandmuseum@gmail.com

 

Highlights for the exhibition include:

3 spirit photographs circa 1920 by William Hope (1863 – 1933)

William Hope was a pioneer of so-called "spirit photography". Based in Crewe, England, he was a member of the well known spiritualists group, the Crewe Circle. During his photography sessions, Hope would sometimes carry out prayers and religious hymns.

Literature: The Guardian “William Hope's spirit photographs”

 

William Mortensen (1897 - 1965) “Obsession” (Also titled “Fear”) 1928 photograph

William Mortensen (January 27, 1897 – August 12, 1965) was an American photographer, primarily known for his Hollywood portraits in the 1920s–1940s in the Pictorialist style and occult themed works that were controversial in their time. A print of this image hung in Anton LaVey (the founder of the Church of Satan)'s “Black House” in San Francisco in the 1960's.

Litterature: The Guardian “William Mortensen: photographic master at the monster’s ball”

 

LILITH by Kenyon Cox 1894 albertype.

Kenyon Cox (October 27, 1856 – March 17, 1919) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, writer, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York. Lilith (/ˈlɪlɪθ/; Hebrew: לִילִית Lîlîṯ) is a figure in Jewish mythology, developed earliest in the Babylonian Talmud (3rd to 5th century AD). From c. AD 700–1000 onwards Lilith appears as Adam's first wife, created at the same time (Rosh Hashanah) and from the same clay as Adam—compare Genesis 1:27.[1] The figure of Lilith may relate in part to a historically earlier class of female demons (lilītu) in ancient Mesopotamian religion, found in cuneiform texts of Sumer, the Akkadian Empire, Assyria, and Babylonia.

 

Unknown photographer circa early 1800's Albumen print

detail of Luca Signorelli, The Damned Cast into Hell, 1499-1504, fresco, 23′ wide (San Brizio chapel, Orvieto Cathedral, Orvieto, Italy)

 

Richard Boursnell Spirit Photograph circa 1900 Richard Boursnell (1832 – 1909)

was a British medium and spirit photographer. Unknown photographer, vernacular snapshot circa 1930.

 

Spirit photo cabinet card circa 1890

 

Ghost of Bernadette Soubirous (spirit of nun) 1880

 

A Cheshire Ghost Spirit Photo 1870

 

Craig and George Falconer (mid 19th - early 20th century) Spirit photograph circa 1930

The Falconers would invite audiences to watch them load film into their cameras and produce prints, “proving” that no trickery was afoot.

 

Spirit Photo of Native Man with ancestral lineage, date unknown c. 1900

John Myers Spirit seance photo 1933

John Myers (died 1972) was a British dentist and spiritualist medium. Myers worked as a dentist in London and took up spirit photography in the 1930s. He claimed to communicate with an American Indian spirit guide called "Blackfoot". The spiritualist Maurice Barbanell, editor of Psychic News, defended Myers in a book and considered his phenomena to be genuine.

 

King Features Syndicate 1941

SPIRIT (G)--This strange photograph of "ectoplasm`' assertedly issuing from the mouth of a medium was one of the many used by the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in an attempt to prove the existence of a spirit world whose inhabitants can return to the world of the living.

 

Jack Edwards (dates unknown), Spirit photography from Camp Silver Belle, Ephrata Pennsylvania. circa 1940's

In 1927 Ethel Post-Parrish opened a church and established a school for the education of Spiritualist ministers and the development of mediums in Miami, Florida. To escape the intense heat and humidity of Florida’s summers, in 1932, she opened a summer camp and school for mediumship in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. This is called Camp Silver Belle so named for Mrs. Parrish's Indian guide Silver Belle.

Jack Edwards (dates unknown), Spirit photography from Camp Silver Belle, Ephrata Pennsylvania. circa 1940's

While Ethel Post-Parrish submitted to many tests in order to prove the truth of her splendid manifestations of physical mediumship, her real desire was to bring comfort and happiness to humanity, through her wonderful gift.

 

Accidental photography sometimes results in depictions of

paranormal looking imagery. A selection of several images from

the collection will be included in the exhibtion.

 

Manuscript page depicting demons in Hell Rajasthan, India, early 20th century

 

Romeyn de Hooghe (1645 - 1708)

Romeyn de Hooghe (bapt. 10 September 1645 – 10 June 1708) was an important and prolific late Dutch Baroque, painter, sculptor, engraver and caricaturist. The Hieroglyphica took him many year to accomplish and was only discovered after his death, and published 25 years later in Amsterdam by Joris van der Oude in 1735.

bookplate from “Hieroglyphica — Symbols of Ancient People” 1735. MYTHOLOGY-ICONOLOGY-EVIL-HYROGLYPHIC
Plate 28 shows evil Gods. This plate shows A. Herimis; B. Joosje Tidebaic; C. dragon; D. Abaddon; E. Temptation in the Garden of Eden; F. treasure keeper; G. treasure guard; H. goblins; I. pagan dance; K. De Witte Vrouw (the White Lady); L. Larunda; M. Harpies; N. Wrath of the harpies; O. Nightmare; P. Earthquake; Q. Scylla; R. Charybdis; S. Syrtes.

full series with captions can be found here

 

Jacques Callot (592-1635)  The Temptation of St. Anthony 1635

 Callot returned to this ambitious, cataclysmic subject, which he had treated in 1617, just before his death. It may reflect his horror at the plague that had taken his father’s life in 1631, or his own battle with stomach cancer.

 

Fritz Gareis (1872-1925) “the Light” circa 1920 ink and watercolor.

 

John Everard (1903-1969) “ADAM'S FIFTH RIB” 1935 Photogravure

 

Luciana Lupe Vasconcelos "Le Mystere" 2018

 

Nahw Yg Grand oeil de nuit au contour de silence.. photograph 2020

 

Pipe Rack with Lincoln Imp, carved and painted wood with ornamental metal attachments, c. late 1800's.

The Lincoln Imp is a grotesque on a wall inside Lincoln Cathedral, England, and it has become the symbol of the city of Lincoln. A legend tells of it being a creature sent to the cathedral by Satan, only to be turned into stone by an angel.

Unknown Artist, American, Watercolor depicting "Virgil At The Entrance Of Hell" of Dante's Inferno, circa 1940's

 

Attributed to Johann Georg Gichtel (1638 – 1710)

Bookplates illustrating the works of Jacob Bohme 1665

 

Daniel Goncalves "460" 2020

 

Dolorosa De La Cruz "Invocation of la Reina Roja 2" 2014 gouache pencil and gold ink

 

Alexis Palmer Karl "The Serpent Shaman" 2019 c-print

 

Barry William Hale Scribblings in ectoplasm animation 2020

 

Kim Bo Yung "Sentinel" 2015 ink and watercolor on paper. 2015

 

Ceremonial Wand, Boston MASS c. 1800 Carved and inscribed Scrimshaw bearing the inscription "AMASARAC" the demon entity possessing magical and transformative powers over spices and herbs. Presumably this wand was used to handle such spices and herbs during ceremony, while conjuring AMASARAC to empower them.

 

Darcilio Lima (1944 - 1991) "The Magi" Lithograph, circa 1975

Exhibited at Reina Sophia Museum, Madrid

Brazilian artist Darcilio Lima made his art as cojures against malevolent spirits,

to protect himself and the person who would bring his art into their homes.

 

Josh Stebbins "Mortensen's Incubus"  pencil drawing 2018

 

Grimoire page by an unknown hand, British, possibly 19th century, ink and unknown substance on cloth.


Wolfgang Grasse (1930 – 2008, German/Australian) "Firestone" Acrylic on panel, 2004

Wolfgang Grasse was born Dresden, Germany in 1930. At the age of 14 Wolfgang Grasse saw firsthand the hell and horror unleashed during the British and American bombing of the city of Dresden. This event traumatized him for the rest of his life. Grasse exiled from Germany to Tasmania after serving 8 years in a gulag for making a drawing of Stalin n the gallows. This painting depicts the Arrernte, whose mythology and spirituality focuses on the landscape and the Dreamtime. Altjira is the creator being of the Inapertwa that became all living creatures. Tjurunga are objects of religious significance.

Litterature: Wolfgang Grasse Temporal Misfit

 

The hardworking painter Mr. Karl Kohl (dates unknown, 19th century)

Excerpt from Doktor Johannes Faust’s Magia naturalis et innaturalis : oder, Dreifacher Höllenzwang, letztes Testament and Siegelkunst,nach einer kostbar ausgestattenten Handschrift in der Herzogl. Bibliothek zu Koburg vollständig und wortgetreu hrsg. in fünf Abtheilungen..

published by Johann Scheible, 1849

Translation:

Doctor Johannes Faust’s Magia naturalis et innaturalis: or, Triple hell compulsion Last Testament and Seal Art,after a preciouslyausgestatt ducks handwriting in the Ducal. Library Coburg ed fully and faithfully. .. in five divisions

"This manuscript, that apparently dates from the previous century,
consists of 303 pages in Folio, in which a lot of illustrated pictures are
interwoven. The hardworking painter Mr. Karl Kohl copied the typeface
as well as the images in a most faithful way and I paid him in full,
although in a reduced scale." - Johann Scheible, 1849

 

The exhibition will also include this work by Shannon Taggart depicting

Raymond Buckland, which the artist is graciousy donating to the museum for their permanent collection..


for further information or visuals please contact

stephen romano at romanostephen@gmail.com

 

and

 

Steven Intermill at Bucklandmuseum@gmail.com