USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C om mu n it y Ne w sp ap er is a publ ic at ion of Es c a mbi a-S a nt a R os a B a r A ss o c i at ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icia l Ci rcu it Section A, Page 1
Vol. 22, No. 37
V isit T he S ummation W eekly O nline : SummationWeekly.com
September 14, 2022
1 Section, 12 Pages
SÉ ANCE PENSACOLA MUSEUM OF ART DEBUTS SUPERNATURAL EXHIBIT FOR FALL 2022 Courtesy of the Pensacola Museum of Art
F
or those that find haunted houses too gauche and feel a bit too old to go trick or treating, the Pensacola Museum of Art will be hosting a supernatural exhibit this fall which provides a glimpse into real-life attempts to communicate with the dead.
The photography exhibit, Séance, showcases the work of Shannon Taggert and her explorations into Spiritualist practices across the United States, England and France from the last 20 years. The exhibition examines the relationship of Spiritualism to human celebrity, its connections to art, science and technology and its intrinsic bond with the medium of photography. Spiritualism is an American-born religion that believes in communication with spirits of the dead. The movement emerged in Rochester, New York in 1848 when two adolescent sisters, Kate and Margaret Fox, claimed to communicate with the spirit of a murdered man through a system of coded knocks. This phenomenon drew large crowds eager to witness the girls serve as ‘mediums’ of communication with the deceased. As the religion grew, several
Spiritualist schools and communities formed that still operate today, of which Lily Dale, founded in Western New York in 1879, remains the most popular. Shannon Taggart was first introduced to the religion as a teenager, when her cousin received a message from a medium at Lily Dale revealing a strange family secret. The incident made Taggart deeply curious about Spiritualism, leading her first to photograph the Lily Dale community in 2001 and eventually to document other Spiritualist centers, including Arthur Findlay College in the United Kingdom and Montcabirol in France. While the subject matter for this photography exhibit may feel strange to some viewers, Spiritualism and photography have many similarities. Having both developed in the mid-nineteenth century, the religion and the art form provided a
Reverend Jean heals Jennifer, the Healing Temple. Lily Dale, NY, 2003 20” x 30”
new method for convincing world of belief lying just the audience that things are beyond the fringes of everynot always as they seem. day reality. When Spiritualists began “Over the years, I’ve using photography to docu- encountered an ar ray ment their work, the reli- of photographic séance gion seized on the new phenomena,” Taggart said medium as a tool for reveal- in her book. “These artiing the existence of spir- facts made me consider its. For non-believers, the the analogies found at the ghostly forms that materi- intersection of life, death, alized in spirit photographs Spiritualism and photogproved nothing more than raphy. Photography and darkroom trickery. Spiritualism both offer an While this double-sided interaction with what was coin of belief and skepti- once present, but is now cism haunts the histories of gone. Each uses the term both photography and Spir- ‘medium’ to describe their itualism, Taggart’s photo- role as an intermediary graphs do not take sides. As instrument for commuseen in many of the exhibit nication. Trance states photos on display in Séance, often develop under a red her photos often include light, like the latent images unexplained phenomena brought forth in the fluid including glowing orbs, of chemical darkrooms. out-of-place light flares and Ectoplasm is described as visual blurs which invoke moist and fragrant, like the feeling of otherworldly human emissions, and entities. Taking on the role light-sensitive, like photoof participant observer, graphic materials. Wombs, Taggart bears witness with cameras and séance rooms her camera to an unseen are all devices that generate and transmit presence from inside a dark chamber.” Shannon Taggart is an artist and author based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her photographs have been exhibited and featured internationally, including within the publications TIME, New York Times Magazine, Discover, and Newsweek. Her work has been recognized by Nikon, Magnum Photos and the Inge Morath Founda-
tion, American Photography and the Alexia Foundation for World Peace. Taggart’s m o n og r a p h , S É A N C E (Fulgur Press, 2019) was listed as one of TIME magazine’s ‘Best Photobooks of 2019.’ Séance: Photographs by Shannon Taggert will be on view on the first floor of the Pensacola Museum of Art from September 16 to December 4, 2022. The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The Pensacola Museum of Art, in partnership with the UWF College of Arts, Social Sciences and the Humanities will also be hosting an event with Shannon Taggart on September 30. The artist talk begins at 6:30 pm with a book signing to follow. PMA members are invited to a members only preview at 5:30 pm before the public reception begins at 6 pm. The Pensacola Museum of Art is located at 407 S Jefferson Street in downt ow n Pe n s a c o l a . T h e museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, and on Sundays from 12 pm to 4 pm. To learn more about Séance: Photographs by Shannon Taggert, register for the Artist Talk or explore more of the exhibitions at the PMA, head to PensacolaMuseum.org. •
_ Table-tipping workshop with mediums Reverend Jane and Chris Howarth. Erie, Pennsylvania, 2014 32” x 48”
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