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Exhibition Guide
*Concurrent with the presentation at CCS Bard, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in
New York will exhibit a full-scale theatrical film installation of OurslersImponderablefilm
(June 18, 2016 - January 2, 2017).
A fully illustrated publication is available at the front desk (price $65).
The original soundtrack for Imponderable by J.G. Thirlwell is also available at the front desk
(price $20).
Imponderable: The Archives of Tony Oursler was commissioned and produced by the LUMA
Foundation for the Parc des Ateliers in Arles, France. Curated by Tom Eccles and Beatrix
Ruf. CCS Bard exhibition design by Adam Bandler and Jessica Rivera. This guide was
produced by Staci Bu Shea with object descriptions from Imponderable: the Archives of Tony
Oursler. The curators would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Katie Langjahr
in the Oursler Studio.
The exhibition Tony Oursler: The Imponderable Archive, curated by Tom Eccles and Beatrix Ruf
is on view at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New
York, from June 25 to October 30, 2016.
Table 2: 12-21
12. Hand-drawn copy of a diagram from Man, the
Microcosm, possibly kabbalistic (left) and a table of
the 28 lunar mansions with their intelligences and
qualities, from Tycho Brahes Teletes, 1866 (right).
Spencer Collection, vol. 39.
The Spencer Collection is a 45-volume manuscript
encyclopedia of occult and esoteric knowledge. Its
compiled contents intersect at many points with
other areas of the Oursler Archives.
13. Hand-drawn copy of A Figure that Serves
to Erect a Theme or Horoscope for Kingdoms,
Cities, Republic and Congregations, from
Astrologia Cabalistica. Spencer Collection, vol. 24.
14. Hand-drawn copy of The Philosophical
Divisions of Man, the Microcosm, from Mondo
superiore (tables and diagrams of cosmogonies).
Spencer Collection, vol. 44.
15. Spencer Collection, vol. 35.
16. 19th-c. printed image of the Tablet of Cebes,
one of Socratess students. It shows a tableau of
life--with virtues and temptations symbolically
represented--written in French, according to
the Platonic dialogue of Cebes. From the Piccola
Enciclopedia Scienze Occulte (Small Encyclopedia of
Occult Sciences). Spencer Collection, Vol. 41.
17. Hand-drawn copy of Robert Fludds diagram
of the mind. Spencer Collection, vol. 6. Fludd was
an English physician who followed the teachings of
Paracelsus, a Swiss-German Renaissance scientist
and astrologer who founded the discipline of
toxicology. Fludd also wrote occult philosophy and
studied astrology, Cabala, and mathematics.
18. Seals (sigils) of Beelzebuth, hand-copied from
the Tegrario grimoire. Spencer Collection, vol. 45.
19. These hand-drawn images may be a diagram
translating numbers into sign language. The first
image reads the numbers of the Chaldaeans,
and the second diagram is of an extremely clear
demonstration of the formal numbers that have
emanated from the divinity after the substantial
Table 3: 22-32
22. a. Photograph of Old Witch House, Salem,
Mass, c. 1900-10.
b. Postcard of Joseph Smiths cabin, 1907. Old
Joe Smith House near Susquehana, Pa. Built by
the founder of the Mormon religion between 182428. Smith lived here while translating the Golden
Bible or Book of Mormon.
c. Photograph of the Fox sisters cottage with a
plaque above the door, Spiritualism originated
March 31st 1848 in this house.
d-e. Photographs of the Boleskine House, a manor
on Loch Ness owned by occultist Aleister Crowley.
In addition to raising a family here, Crowley
performed occultist rituals on the grounds of
Boleskine, including the Abra-Melin Operation,
described in the grimoire The Book of the Sacred
Magic of Abramelin (1458). Led Zeppelin guitarist
Jimmy Page owned the house from the 1970s-90s.
24. a. You may not believe this, but Ive been here
five times before, said the sixth body of the Rv.
Henry Holstine, minister of a band of Appalachian
Holiness people known as the Never Dies. News
photograph of Jesus Church, Camp Creek, West
Virginia, 1973.
b. News photograph of the Branch Davidians
communal house photographed during the siege
by FBI snipers.
c. This is an aerial view of the destroyed Branch
Davidian compound...The religious cults
stronghold was destroyed in a fire Monday. News
photograph, Waco, Texas, 1993.
25. The Gift, photograph by Brook Brown, Montana,
1980. The text is from A Treatise on the
Melchisedek Priesthood, and the Calling of
God (1872) by Stephen Post, an early member
and preacher of the Mormon Church, who later
belonged to a splinter group.
Table 4: 33-41
33. Chart Showing the Rates of Church Accommodation to
the Total Population over 10 Years, compiled by
Francis A. Walker from the Social Statistics of the
Ninth Census, 1870.
34. a. The Witches Dance in Tam o Shanter, published
in The Complete Works of Robert Burns (London: Geo
Virtue, 1839). Print by Samuel S. Smith after John
Masey Wright.
b. Maxine Morris, self-styled Queen of Englands
30,000 witches... performs the rite of calling
down the moon with magical and pagan elements
surrounding her. People magazine, 1970.
c. Witch Ron Parshley poses at an altar in his
Lawrence home holding an athame, a ritual
tool exclusively, never used as a weapon. News
photograph, 1986.
35. A printed Tibetan image of the tribunal of Yama,
the god of death, from Frate da St. Bartolomeo
Carmelita Paolinis Sistema Bracmanico liturgino
mitologiio (Brahmanian Systems of Liturgical
Mythology), 1791. Spencer Collection, vol. 40.
36. Tibetan Kapala Skull, Lhasa, 19th c. Kapala,
the Sanskrit word for skull, is also used to
describe a vessel made from a human skull that is
used in both Hindu Tantra and Buddhist Tantra
rituals. The deities of the Vajrayana system of
Buddhism are often depicted holding kapalas.
In Tibet, the skulls are decorated with carvings,
metalwork, or precious gems.
37. a. Grisly Trophies at Nuremberg. News
photograph, 1945.
b. Photograph of a shrunken head, 20th c.
38. Shrunken head, 1950s.
39. a. Chasing Ghost--Good witch Zia Rose of
Bridgeport, [Connecticut]... News photograph,
early 1970s.
b. Photograph of Cecil Williamson, an English
neopagan witch, at the Museum of Witchcraft,
which he founded in Cornwall in 1951.
Table 5: 42-54
42. A Voudoo Dance--Drawn by John Durkin,
Harpers Weekly, 1887.
43. Printing plate for The Sixth & Seventh Books of
Moses: Magic. Spirits. Art, a text written in the 18th
or 19th century that was ostensibly taken from
lost books written by Moses. The book contains
instructions on how to cast magical spells to
recreate the miracles described in the Bible, and
drew heavily on the language and imagery of the
Bible for its incantations and symbols. It was
brought to America by German immigrants, and
subsequently proliferated among the AfricanAmerican population, influencing the Rastafarian
movement in the 20th century.
44. a. Photograph of a spread of antique Tarot cards.
b-e. Thoth tarot cards from the deck made by
Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris. The
deck, which introduced the tarot to a broader
audience, was painted by Harris. Crowley sought
to incorporate aspects and symbols from his wide
range of interests in the occult, ancient Egypt, and
Taijitu. Top left is the printing plate for the Thoth
decks Hierophant card.
f. Contact sheets for the Thoth Tarot deck.
g. The Mystical has become serious business.
Tarot cards used to tell the future are extremely
popular. News photograph, 1972.
h-m. Illustrated gypsy fortune-telling cards
by Nemesi, with titles in German, Serbian,
Hungarian, and Slovenian, early 20th century.
From left to right, top to bottom: Falseness,
Longing, Disaster, Letter, Stability, Death,
Annoyance, Thief, Sadness.
45. Sequined baby voodoo doll, late 20th c.
46. a. Photograph of a palm reader in Allery, France.
b. Photograph, 1904. The caption reads: Now the
oracle spoke: Stay true to your values. This is the
only way you will achieve true happiness.
c. Photograph of a Chinese fortune teller in San
Francisco, 1905.
47. Cheiros Language of the Hand by Cheiro, 15th ed.
(New York: Rand, McNally & Co., 1897). The book
contains complete practical work on the sciences
Table 6: 55-62
55. Oddfellows banner, painted silk with gilt trim
and tassels, late 18th-early 19th c. The threelink chain signifies the primary values of the
organization: friendship, love, and truth. The
scythe symbolizes the specter of death, the skull is
a reminder of mans mortality, and the all-seeing
eye represents the omniscience of God.
56. Hand-painted wire mesh mask with beard and
eyebrows made from human hair. Members of
the Oddfellows wore these masks during fraternal
ceremonies and rituals. In the 1920s, costume
companies like DeMoulin Bros & Co. began
manufacturing them for the lodges.
57. a. Cellulose negative of Aleister Crowleys Abbey
of Telema, a small temple he founded in 1920 in
Cefal, Sicily.
b. Glass negative of Aleister Crowley in his
late 60s, c. 1950.
58. Kenneth Anger, a young American film-maker
who rediscovered [Aleister Crowleys] Abbey,
had to scrape off a thick covering of cement
to reveal the Magic Circle on the floor of the
Sanctum Sanctorum--Crowleys Temple. In the
centre of the circle stood the six-sided altar on
which was kept among many magic symbols, the
Record of the Abbey, in which were such entries
as: Yesterday I resolved to use no heroin after 11
a.m.... [He] prepared his drugs in the kitchen, with
pestle, mortar and the usual batch of sorcerers
utensils. Photograph, c. 1968.
59. a. News photograph of Charles Manson
compiling images from December 1969-March 1971.
b. 666 Devil Lane. Pencil on paper drawing,
possibly by Charles Manson.
c. Sandra Good (L) and would-be presidential
assassin Lynette Fromme enter the Federal
Building for the continuation of Miss Goods
trial on charges of making death threats against
corporate and government leaders [...]. News
photograph, 1976.
60. a. Screenshot of the Heavens Gate website, 1990s.
b. Heavens Gate Travel Tape, DVD, color, 90 min.,
1996. The video shows the leader of Heavens Gate,
Table 7: 63-69
63. a. The Rev. Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guyana,
November 17-18, 1978. This photograph was taken
just hours before the mass murder-suicide of 909
members of the Peoples Temple cult.
b. Outside of Jim Joness compound, Jonestown,
Guyana, November 18, 1978. Photograph by Tim
Reiterman.
64. Photograph of some members of the Unification
Church, including its founder and leader, Sun
Myung Moon, 1979.
65. Photograph of three members of artist Otto
Muehls Praterstrae Commune in Vienna, 1973,
by Theo Altenberg. Muehl founded the Commune
in 1970; members wore pacifiers in public as a
symbol that they had separated themselves from
mainstream, adult society.
66. a. Newspaper clippings, photograph, and
photographs mounted on board, dates vary, 18801910s. Handwritten caption: Photos show the
pentintes (sic) whipping themselves on Good
Friday. This is done once a year to free them of
Sin and the devil for the coming year. Women and
children roll in cactus. The spots on their backs
[are] blood drawn from administering whips as
shown in the photo above. They also carry heavy
crosses. This ceremony is after dark.
b. STREET OF THE HEAVENLY GENERALS:
Iron ball with steel spikes is used by medium
scourging his back in self-mortification. Temple
assistants stand by with buckets of ice-cold water
to douse wounds. News photograph, 1956.
c. Photo of Southeast Asian public ritual involving
self-flagellation, 20th c.
Table 8: 70-81
70. Photograph of the cottage at Camp Chesterfield,
home of the Indiana Association of Spiritualists.
Founded in 1886, the camp was a community
(complete with residences, an auditorium, and
sance cabins) for practicing mediumship and
spiritual development.
Table 9: 82-92
82. Scientific American, vol. 151, No. 1 (July 1934).
83. a. Mental Telepathy Explained by Hereward
Carrington, 1977.
b. Thought Transference: A Critical and Historical Review
of the Evidence for Telepathy, with a Record of New
Experiments by Northcote W. Thomas (New York:
Dodge Publishing Company, 1903). The book presents
a record of experiments in telepathic communications
using several subjects and participants.
84. a. Photograph of Dr. R. L. Noran, an ESP
practitioner, with half-dollar coins taped over his
eyes, c. 1978.
b. Whatever this bat is saying, his language is being
recorded for use in Dust or Destiny, new scientific
color film, just released by the Moody Institute
of Science of Los Angeles, offshoot of the Moody
Institute of Chicago.... News photograph, 1950.
c. Photograph of one of Dr. Rhines subjects, c. 1937.
Handwritten note (verso): George Zirkle naming
cards by telepathy. His fiance, Sara Ownbey, is
looking at the cards two rooms away.
85. ESP Cards for Testing Extra Sensory
Perception, developed in Dr. Joseph Banks Rhines
Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University.
Rhinewas also one of the debunkers of the Boston
medium Margery Crandon in the 1920s. Rhines
colleague Karl Zener designed these cards to test
telepathic abilities. Ultimately, many of Rhines
experiments with the cards were discredited due to
sensory leakage (the symbols on the cards could be
made out even when looking at the reverse side).
86. The Hefley Psychic Report, Vol. 6 (January/February
1979). Electronic Exorcism, an article by Edith
Kermit Roosevelt, describes how possession
of human beings may someday be proven by the
scientific community.
87. Illuminated, cloth-bound notebook presenting
instructions for alchemical processes, 19th-c.
Prepared by the French alchemist Albert Poisson
(1868-1893), it includes a transcription of 15thcentury alchemist Nicolas Flamels Le Brviaire,
originally written in cipher in the margins of a breviary
for use by Flamels nephews. Poisson is remembered
as one of the most renowned modern alchemists,
publishing his most famous work, Thories et symboles
des alchimistes, at age 22.
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