Magic in Art and Culture

Magic and the Inexplicable

• The topic explores the presence of magic and inexplicable phenomena in everyday life and in art.
• It delves into how artists approach the supernatural and why there's a renewed fascination with magic, even in social media.
• The central question is not whether to believe in the supernatural, but to explore the cultural significance and artistic interpretations of magic.
• The text features artists who integrate supernatural themes into their work, questioning our reality and exploring cultural roots of magic.

Ginevra Petzi: Magic and the Digital World

• Ginevra Petzi, an Italian artist, combines magic with daily life and identifies as a digital witch.
• Magic, for her, is a sensitivity to a more invisible, concrete level of reality.
• She uses her art to explore the intersection of technology, magic, and culture.

Etruscan Lion Project

• During a residency, Petzi worked with metal to create an Etruscan lion, aiming to channel magical powers.
• The lion serves to ward off the dangers of the Technocene era.
• The design includes a lock inspired by an Etruscan sarcophagus, metaphorically a "chastity belt" to protect against evil.

Votive Offerings

• Petzi creates votive offerings from cut aluminum sheets, hammered into eye shapes reminiscent of Internet Explorer icons.
• The artist draws inspiration from Catholic traditions where offerings are left in churches as a request for wishes to be granted.
• Growing up in Italy, Catholicism mixes with magical thinking, like the superstition of the "evil eye," which affects her art.
• She recounts a personal experience of offering a pendant for her sick mother's healing, illustrating the blend of magic and religion.

Tarot and Artistic Expression

• Petzi uses tarot cards as a communication method and a visual tool.
• She doesn't consider belief in tarot or the supernatural as a relevant question.
• She uses a famous quote, "It's not true, but I believe it," to explain her point of view.

Dan Robins: Ghost Stories in the UK

• In the British Isles, ghosts are a part of daily life and culture, found in old houses, pubs, and theaters.
• Dan Robins, a London-based author and podcaster, collects ghost stories.
• Many UK theaters are believed to have their own resident ghosts, with common stories involving a White Lady or tragic figures.
• The fear of failure in theaters is linked to ghost stories, alleviating pressure with the presence of ghosts who have already "failed".
• Robins views the magic in theater as the connection between the audience and the actors bringing a story to life.
• Robins started his podcast in a garden shed, creating a space for people to share their ghost stories without judgment.
• The podcast, started in 2021 during the pandemic, provided companionship during isolation.
• Robins focuses on listening to the stories, rather than demystifying them.
• He believes that the uncertainty is what is frightening about "ghosts".
• Listeners developed an acute awareness of their mortality during the pandemic.
• He applies a 'true crime' approach to ghost stories, seeking to solve the mystery of the revenant's past.

Enfield Poltergeist

• The Enfield Poltergeist case involved the Hitchings family in 1956, experiencing flying objects, noises, and even writing appearing on walls.
• The activity centered around their 15-year-old daughter, Shirley, which garnered media attention and was discussed in Parliament.
• Even after making a series, Robins is perplexed by the events.

Personal Connection to the Paranormal

• Robins's interest in ghosts stems from a personal experience around age 20, where he felt he was dying and saw angels.
• He realized he was having a panic attack.
• For Robins ghosts are an antidote to his "fear of death".

Heilung: Musical Shamanism

• The musical project Heilung uses the fascination with the supernatural with videos that have millions of views online.
• Their concerts draw inspiration from ancient pagan rituals, offering an alternative experience.
• The band aims to provide a moment for listeners to surrender to sounds of their ancestors.

Themes in Heilung's Music

• The music includes Nordic influences, and ancient customs.
• Their music covers ritual from the beginning of humanity and even medieval times.
• Performances incorporate shamanic practices, where the shaman enters a trance to connect with spirits and help others.
• Heilung offers gifts to unseen entities, but their rituals aren't historically correct.
• The result is 'musical theater' without ideology, focusing on spirituality, history, and nature.
• The group creates a connection to ancestral origins from the depth of vieilles pierres and old instruments résonnent in their listeners.

Kati Rickenbach: Magia Naturalis

• For artist Kati Rickenbach, the sensation of the supernatural has a force that can be explained through creative expression.
• She tracks the secrets of nature and incorporates them into her engravings,
• Rickenbach is interested in the transition to modern natural sciences, specifically focusing on "magia naturalis"
• Magia naturalis encompasses sciences like alchemy, cabala, chiromancy, astrology, and phenology.

Exploring the Inexplicable

• Rickenbach's book, "Magia Naturalis," explores the cultural sociology of magic as a philosophy of nature to find man's place in the cosmos.
• Her artwork is inspired by 18th-century magic treatises describing ancient rituals from the University Library of Basel's collection.
• Alchemy illustrations serve as metaphors for desires and transformation processes.
• During times of crisis, interest in the supernatural increases, prompting Rickenbach to seek clarity.

COVID-19 Pandemic

• During the COVID-19 pandemic she examined the re-evaluation of science and conspiracy theories.
• Despite the magical appearance, her book reveals the coincidences in the world.
• Her conclusion is that chance is the most powerful magician

Ginevra Petzi: Digital Esoterism

• Ginevra Petzi transplants tarot predictions into a smartphone image world.
• She uses tarot cards for her "digital esoterism" master's project, and was told not to keep the cards as they were but to transform the practice.
• She uses the phone as an artistic display, as art allows for "speculation".
• The artist treats both smartphone and tarot readings seriously, engaging in authentic conversations.

Silicon Valley and Modern Magic

• Petzi notes that Silicon Valley is like a cult, with obscurity and incomprehensible functions.
• By reclaiming the "obscure aspects", she views magical practices as resistance to power.
• She defends both science and magic, integrating both in her art.
• Petzi has constructed a role as a digital witch through her artistic work.

The Witch Archetype

• A "witch" is an archetype.
• The witch serves as a symbol of political rebellion against controlling systems, a healer, and someone who can curse.
• The artist sees the "witch" as someone whose role in a community is used to heal and "maudir".
• Fascination for magic continues in the technological world.