CROSSROADS by Addminimal

Stunning art direction/ fashion shoot titled 'CrossRoads' from 5th edition of Species online Magazine by Addminimal creative (by Adriana Gerasimova).
The images talk about travelers and how seeing different parts of the world help you acknowledge your own uniqueness. A strong emphasis on cultures and body decoration somehow remind me of a familiar theme.....

Jilly Hawkhead's Scupture for Travelling

Camberwell College of Art's graduate show last month was nothing but ordinary. It was truly refreshing to see the students' talent shine in various (including the unexpected) kinds of media. The BA(Hons) Drawing department in particular took me by surprise with their artistic attempt to 'draw' in so many disciplines. From traditional pencil on paper, to collages and sculptures, to installations as their final pieces.

Jilly Hawkhead's work, among the course alumni, was my favorite. Her work took over a small room in a corner and turned it into "Shamanic Flight Center", a place where participants can plan and book their flight to the spirit world!
A very tongue-in-cheek approach to talk about Shamanism and its commercial twist in today's world. She's surely getting a thumb up from me.

You can follow her at her Shaman-In-Residence blog.

Jackson Pollock

Recently I've read a post describing Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) as an 'example of Artist as Shaman in the modern world'. Interestingly, the writer brought up a few connections of Pollock's art work and the study of Shamanism, i.e. Pollock's interested in Jungian psychoanalysis and his strong link with the Native American Art. The writer also described the his paintings to be 'Shamanic' as the artist described his untraditional process of painting to be done in a subconscious level.
Indeed, Pollock's swirls and splashes were exquisite expressions coming for deep and raw place within the artist soul, reflecting the inner respond to what was going on in the world at that time. There's no doubt that his master pieces change the face of contemporary art forever as it explore another level of artist's mind and speak a new language of visual that will last generations...

But, a question remains: Did Jackson Pollock really talked to spirits?

Terence Koh

Terence Koh is one of today's most controversial contemporary artist. Working across various media, Koh’s work often involves the theme of spirituality in contrast with the quirky provocative cultural satire. He also is well known for his ritualistic performance pieces, in which he adopt the role of a modern day shaman, exploring the value of existence and belief in the contemporary through its icons. An art star, fashion icon, and a living esoteric myth, Terence Koh is a truly example of an urban shaman, breaking down the modern society's rationalists idea - one art piece at a time.

Garl and Coo

Although receiving a lot of attentions via their "avant garde" fashion collection, the dou Garl and Coo offers more deeper content in their artistic work which spread through various media including films, exhibitions, art objects and print publication.
The duo, comprising fashion designer Jasmin Isabel Eckerle and artist Marcel Singer, drawn their inspiration from resurfacing the Black forest's myth and its natural essence. This results in tribal aesthetic, dark, grounded and mysterious nature within their pieces.

Cameron Jamie

Cameron Jamie brings art and anthropology together in his explorations of various fringe rituals shown in his work. Along with his drawings and installation, Jamie's films stir up a lot of attention. The artist’s acclaimed film trilogy explore 3 different underground, uncanny culture. The first video was the 2003 "Spook House", a montage of amateur haunted house in LA. Second one was the 26 minute video “Kranky Klaus," that he travelled to an Austrian village of Bad Hofgastein to document local St. Nicholas feast day traditions. Lastly, his 'most violent film according to the artist', "JO"(2004) is an exploration of patriotic rituals, it combines footage of a Fourth of July hotdog eating contest in New York with French celebrations of Joan of Arc.

His current exhibition will be at Gladstone Gallery until the 12th of June. It includes various sculptures and drawings, which the artist created as he was inspired by the carving technique used in the creation of Perchten, ornate wooden masks from the Alpine tradition.

Björk's Earth Intruders

Music video by Björk performing "Earth Intruders", the lead single from her latest album "Volta".

AA Bronson school for young Shamans

AA Bronson's latest exhibition at the John Connelly presents, New York(January 10 - February 16, 2008) goes back to his collaborative roots, and, as always, did not fail to intrigue its audience.

As the only remaining member of the "General Idea" collective, Bronson continues to work with the group's main theme of pain and healing in his solo career. The exhibition was partly the retrospective of Bronson's 40 years work as an artist, showing the transformation of himself through his work and perspective development. The pieces shown in this part of the gallery include ‘Mirror Sequence’ series (1969–70), Evidence of Body Binding (1970) and various portraits. The suggestion is that Bronson’s ‘self’ is an amalgamation of the circumstance and people that surround him.

He continues to illustrate this notion of self in references to others surround him in the second part of the exhibition, showing his various collaborations with the emerging 'young shamans'. Displayed in this part were the shamanistic works such as Christophe Chemin's film The Gold Room (showing artist's attempt to levitation), J.X. Williams' assorted objects for driving the evil spirits, Michael Dudeck performance, Item Idem's Louis Vuitton shaman dress, tribute to Joseph Beuys, and the notorious 'Glory Hole' collaboration with Terrence Koh.

This exhibition, overall, captures the essence of Bronson's work which, as discribed by the curator Bill Arnheim, ‘interweaving of tantalizing pleasures and profound trauma’. It also highlight the shamanistic element presenting in today's contemporary gay art practice.

Michelle Knowles

Michelle Knowles is a Brisbane based artist who made sacred out of everyday mundane. In her objects and performances, Michelle references various esoteric occult beliefs, including shamanism. Her recent book "Shamania" documents of a body of work which explores the shamanic object in contemporary art in varius media from performances, art objects, sculptures, and digital stills. (via)