Six week class taught live and online via Zoom

Wednesdays, March 12 - April 16, 2025
7 - 9pm ET (NYC Time) (* Last class will run longer to accommodate final projects)
Admission: $145 Paid Patreon Members / $165 General Admission

Please note: All classes will be recorded for those unable to attend

For some of us, words or images alone are not enough to tell the stories we feel compelled to share.

This class will explore the total work of art—also called a Gesamtkunstwerk—in which the maker oversees all elements of the work, including text, images, objects, and design or mise en scène, in order to create a single cohesive whole. Pioneered by composer Richard Wagner, this idea was embraced by early 20th century Utopian design movements such as the Vienna Secessionists and the British Arts and Crafts movement. Today we see it legacy in the exquisitely realized alternative worlds of beloved makers including Edward Gorey, Anna Biller, David Lynch, Louise Bourgeois, Wes Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Tim Burton, Werner Herzog, Mark Dion, and Mike Kelley.

Our guide on this journey into making will be Joanna Ebenstein, who has applied this principle to the creation of The Morbid Anatomy project—from blog to library to event series to museum to institution—as well as multiple exhibitions, classes, a variety of books and articles, and more.

Over the course of six weeks, we will take a deep dive into inspiring and idiosyncratic works created by world builders working in a variety of mediums, from books to films to museums to theatre. We will explore different forms of creativity and receptivity aligned to creating personal expressions that are true to both ourselves and our subjects. We will also explore ideas of poetic research and holistic investigation, and learn about the creative processes of inspiring makers.

Students will have time each session to share research and workshop their own projects. They will leave class with a plan of completion for their own fully realized project, and the skills and knowledge for creating similarly inspired projects in the future.

Joanna Ebenstein is a Mexico-based artist, writer, curator, photographer and graphic designer. She is the founder and creative director of Morbid Anatomy. Her books includeMemento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life, Anatomica: The Exquisite and Unsettling Art of Human Anatomy and Death: A Graveside Companion. You can watch her Tedx Talk—Death as You've Never Seen it Before—here.

The Queen Of The Night, from Mozart's The Magic Flute, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, 1781-1841; The Garden of Earthly Delights: Mankind Before the Flood (detail), Hieronymus Bosch, 1503–1515