Alt/Art: A History of Art from Altered States of Consciousness with Art Historian Brenda Edgar, begins May 20
Six-week class taught online via zoom
Dates: Tuesdays, May 20 - June 24, 2025
Time: from 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Admission: $150 Paid Patreon Members / $170 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time.
Altered States of Consciousness have been a part of human experience since its earliest beginnings. In Prehistoric times, Shamanism was the dominant form of spirituality throughout the world. The Shaman was and is a powerful figure in traditional societies, for he is the one with the ability to enter a trance in which he can travel to the spirit world and communicate with tribal ancestors and the spirits immanent in nature.
We’ll begin with an exploration of Shamanistic experiences, and how they are intimately connected to the visual arts of both Prehistoric and living indigenous cultures. From Paleolithic cave paintings, to Neolithic tombs like Newgrange, to the rock paintings of the San Bushmen in South Africa, to the “sand-painting” rituals of the Navajo, what can the visual record tell us about these direct interactions with the spirit realm?
As paganism gradually edged out Shamanism, interaction with dead ancestors continued into the Ancient period, and there was also a proliferation of Mystery Cults across the Greco-Roman world. The artistic legacy of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Mithraism, and myriad other cults based on spectacular and confusing ecstatic experiences will provide us with a window through which to view these powerful out-of-body events.
Aspects of both Shamanistic and Pagan spiritual ecstasies seem to have continued into the Christian era, in the form of so-called Witchcraft and its associated spells, charms, and herbal wisdom, and possibly in Medieval Christian Mysticism, a tradition in which gifted individuals could communicate and interact directly with God, saints, and angels. We’ll examine the iconography of Witches in Western art as well as that of saintly mystical experiences. Then we’ll trace the development of a new kind of Spiritualism in the Victorian era, with its seances, spirit art and spirit photography.
Finally, we’ll study Sigmund Freud’s 20th-century work with the unconscious human mind as a wellspring of inspiration and deep wisdom. Art movements like Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism were an attempt to work from the unconscious mind of the artist. These images raise intriguing questions about the nature of “automatic” art; much like dreams and other liminal experiences, the works of artists like Salvador Dali and Jackson Pollock can be viewed solely as the product of the mysterious inner workings of the human mind, or are they may be understood as portals into another, spiritual dimension.
Brenda Edgar is an Art Historian in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to her courses for Morbid Anatomy, she also teaches for Indiana University and offers a free monthly talk series, "Art History Illustrated," at the Cultural Arts Center in New Albany, Indiana. Brenda is also a very busy yoga teacher and local tour guide.
Art from Cueva de las Mano, Argentina
“Mural”, Jackson Pollock
Six-week class taught online via zoom
Dates: Tuesdays, May 20 - June 24, 2025
Time: from 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Admission: $150 Paid Patreon Members / $170 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time.
Altered States of Consciousness have been a part of human experience since its earliest beginnings. In Prehistoric times, Shamanism was the dominant form of spirituality throughout the world. The Shaman was and is a powerful figure in traditional societies, for he is the one with the ability to enter a trance in which he can travel to the spirit world and communicate with tribal ancestors and the spirits immanent in nature.
We’ll begin with an exploration of Shamanistic experiences, and how they are intimately connected to the visual arts of both Prehistoric and living indigenous cultures. From Paleolithic cave paintings, to Neolithic tombs like Newgrange, to the rock paintings of the San Bushmen in South Africa, to the “sand-painting” rituals of the Navajo, what can the visual record tell us about these direct interactions with the spirit realm?
As paganism gradually edged out Shamanism, interaction with dead ancestors continued into the Ancient period, and there was also a proliferation of Mystery Cults across the Greco-Roman world. The artistic legacy of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Mithraism, and myriad other cults based on spectacular and confusing ecstatic experiences will provide us with a window through which to view these powerful out-of-body events.
Aspects of both Shamanistic and Pagan spiritual ecstasies seem to have continued into the Christian era, in the form of so-called Witchcraft and its associated spells, charms, and herbal wisdom, and possibly in Medieval Christian Mysticism, a tradition in which gifted individuals could communicate and interact directly with God, saints, and angels. We’ll examine the iconography of Witches in Western art as well as that of saintly mystical experiences. Then we’ll trace the development of a new kind of Spiritualism in the Victorian era, with its seances, spirit art and spirit photography.
Finally, we’ll study Sigmund Freud’s 20th-century work with the unconscious human mind as a wellspring of inspiration and deep wisdom. Art movements like Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism were an attempt to work from the unconscious mind of the artist. These images raise intriguing questions about the nature of “automatic” art; much like dreams and other liminal experiences, the works of artists like Salvador Dali and Jackson Pollock can be viewed solely as the product of the mysterious inner workings of the human mind, or are they may be understood as portals into another, spiritual dimension.
Brenda Edgar is an Art Historian in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to her courses for Morbid Anatomy, she also teaches for Indiana University and offers a free monthly talk series, "Art History Illustrated," at the Cultural Arts Center in New Albany, Indiana. Brenda is also a very busy yoga teacher and local tour guide.
Art from Cueva de las Mano, Argentina
“Mural”, Jackson Pollock
Six-week class taught online via zoom
Dates: Tuesdays, May 20 - June 24, 2025
Time: from 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Admission: $150 Paid Patreon Members / $170 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time.
Altered States of Consciousness have been a part of human experience since its earliest beginnings. In Prehistoric times, Shamanism was the dominant form of spirituality throughout the world. The Shaman was and is a powerful figure in traditional societies, for he is the one with the ability to enter a trance in which he can travel to the spirit world and communicate with tribal ancestors and the spirits immanent in nature.
We’ll begin with an exploration of Shamanistic experiences, and how they are intimately connected to the visual arts of both Prehistoric and living indigenous cultures. From Paleolithic cave paintings, to Neolithic tombs like Newgrange, to the rock paintings of the San Bushmen in South Africa, to the “sand-painting” rituals of the Navajo, what can the visual record tell us about these direct interactions with the spirit realm?
As paganism gradually edged out Shamanism, interaction with dead ancestors continued into the Ancient period, and there was also a proliferation of Mystery Cults across the Greco-Roman world. The artistic legacy of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Mithraism, and myriad other cults based on spectacular and confusing ecstatic experiences will provide us with a window through which to view these powerful out-of-body events.
Aspects of both Shamanistic and Pagan spiritual ecstasies seem to have continued into the Christian era, in the form of so-called Witchcraft and its associated spells, charms, and herbal wisdom, and possibly in Medieval Christian Mysticism, a tradition in which gifted individuals could communicate and interact directly with God, saints, and angels. We’ll examine the iconography of Witches in Western art as well as that of saintly mystical experiences. Then we’ll trace the development of a new kind of Spiritualism in the Victorian era, with its seances, spirit art and spirit photography.
Finally, we’ll study Sigmund Freud’s 20th-century work with the unconscious human mind as a wellspring of inspiration and deep wisdom. Art movements like Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism were an attempt to work from the unconscious mind of the artist. These images raise intriguing questions about the nature of “automatic” art; much like dreams and other liminal experiences, the works of artists like Salvador Dali and Jackson Pollock can be viewed solely as the product of the mysterious inner workings of the human mind, or are they may be understood as portals into another, spiritual dimension.
Brenda Edgar is an Art Historian in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to her courses for Morbid Anatomy, she also teaches for Indiana University and offers a free monthly talk series, "Art History Illustrated," at the Cultural Arts Center in New Albany, Indiana. Brenda is also a very busy yoga teacher and local tour guide.
Art from Cueva de las Mano, Argentina
“Mural”, Jackson Pollock