Art as Spellcraft
Senior Thesis, Multimedia, Research
My thesis was initially inspired by a comment from writer and occultist Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing), who believes that:
"magic is art, and that art, whether that be music, writing, sculpture, or any other form, is literally magic. Art is, like magic, the science of manipulating symbols, words, or images, to achieve changes in consciousness".
I researched the connection between art and magic with the goal of incorporating new information into a project of my own.
Going down this rabbit hole had me cross many infamous creatives and spiritualists such as Aleister Crowley, Grant Morrison, William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Phil Hine, Peter Carrol, and Austin Spare. I discovered that in the 1920s, surrealist artist and spiritualist Austin Spare had invented a style of manifesting one's desire through semiotic design which came to be known as called "sigil magic". These sigil designs, representing the artist's desired outcomes, became a staple in post-modern spiritualism, witchcraft, and chaos magic.
From there, I focused on sigil and chaos magic, having found a format of magical artwork. I designed 9 sigils focused on aspects of positive self-change that resonated with me, such as motivation, creativity, and mental health.
For display, I made an art installation that incorporated gesso paintings with laser cuts. The painting was used to simulate dark scars, representing a negative self-image, from which the bright laser-cut sigils spring forth optimistically.
This installation was paired with a book documenting the process and meaning.
Senior Thesis, Multimedia, Research
My thesis was initially inspired by a comment from writer and occultist Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing), who believes that:
"magic is art, and that art, whether that be music, writing, sculpture, or any other form, is literally magic. Art is, like magic, the science of manipulating symbols, words, or images, to achieve changes in consciousness".
I researched the connection between art and magic with the goal of incorporating new information into a project of my own.
Going down this rabbit hole had me cross many infamous creatives and spiritualists such as Aleister Crowley, Grant Morrison, William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Phil Hine, Peter Carrol, and Austin Spare. I discovered that in the 1920s, surrealist artist and spiritualist Austin Spare had invented a style of manifesting one's desire through semiotic design which came to be known as called "sigil magic". These sigil designs, representing the artist's desired outcomes, became a staple in post-modern spiritualism, witchcraft, and chaos magic.
From there, I focused on sigil and chaos magic, having found a format of magical artwork. I designed 9 sigils focused on aspects of positive self-change that resonated with me, such as motivation, creativity, and mental health.
For display, I made an art installation that incorporated gesso paintings with laser cuts. The painting was used to simulate dark scars, representing a negative self-image, from which the bright laser-cut sigils spring forth optimistically.
This installation was paired with a book documenting the process and meaning.
To view the full PDF of this book click here.
Student project, Portland State University
Student project, Portland State University
