Chicago - Earth Magic

Tomorrow!  June 21st, one night solo exhibition.

Postcard designed by Chris Elmore of Hammer Smashed Sound.

Facebook invitation for the event.

t-shirt as relic

I saw something recently that made me think of the relevance of certain clothing items and thought that I might share something of my own.

This is the SUNN t-shirt that I wore while photographing the entire "Earth Magic" series.  I bought it at their concert in 2005 in Seattle (with Boris and Earth).  I wanted a black shirt originally, but there weren't any.  I got this instead and ended up loving it.  It's very soft.  The next night I saw Sunn again in Olympia (with Boris and Thrones).  They had black shirts then.  I didn't get one.

I wore this shirt regularly over the following years, until the print started to fade.  In 2010 I was taking my second wet plate collodion workshop, which would eventually lead toward "Earth Magic."  I'd somehow avoided ruining any clothes up until this point, but when I started using the 8x10 camera (and officially beginning the new series) I somehow got some silver nitrate on my clothes.  Silver nitrate is what makes the coated glass plate sensitive to light - consequently it stains all organic matter black.  At this point I decided to make this my official wet plate uniform.

I wore this shirt every time I took photographs for the series.  I rolled around in dirt and mixed chemicals such as ether and alcohol in this shirt.  It has a very particular smell that I don't expect will ever disappear.  It's kind of gross, really.  It's still amazingly comfortable, and maybe I feel that it's lucky in some way. 

The bottom edge of the shirt is full of small holes, as at some point I decided against bringing rags with me into the forest, opting to polish the plates with my shirt.

The back is bleached out, though I'm not sure if it's from the sun or from something else.  I'm not sure how that stain got there.

Here is a snapshot of me from last August, before a majority of the shirt abuse took place.  This was taken to demonstrate the ridiculous way that I ended up setting up my camera to get a specific photograph. 

And to be nice, the photograph in question, previously unreleased.

summer reading

I had a lot of books that I wanted to read this summer. While summer isn't over yet and I'm bound to finish more soon, here is how I've done so far:
 
Books finished
Alchemy - An Introduction to the Symbolism and Psychology - Marie-Louise von Franz (I'd already read most of this, but finally finished it)
Magia Sexualis - Sex, Magic, and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism - Hugh B. Urban
The Magic Circle - Its Successful Organization and Leadership - Yaj Nomolos (Do not read this book - it is one of the worst things I've ever read)
Earth Honoring - The New Male Sexuality - Robert Lawlor (Some good food for thought here, though I am skeptical of some of the author's claims)
Witchcraft for Tomorrow - Doreen Valiente
Orgone, Reich and Eros - Wilhelm Reich's Theory of Life Energy - Edward Mann

Books that I have started but not finished yet
The Esoteric Philosophy of Love and Marriage - Dion Fortune
Psychic City Chicago - Doorway to Another Dimension - Brad Steiger
Women Who Run With the Wolves - Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype - Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.

In other news, the end of my Kickstarter campaign is fast approaching.  While I've already exceeded the goal (thank you so much, everyone!), you can still get the rewards and help fund my solo exhibition.

solo exhibit progress!

Kickstarter - putting together a solo exhibit in London!

It's online! I'm now offering a TON of great rewards to those of you interested in helping to fund an upcoming solo exhibition in London. Reproduction prints, darkroom prints - even custom wet plate photographs. Take a look and spread the word!

http://www.kickstarter.com/pro​jects/rikgarrett/rik-garretts-​solo-photography-exhibit-in-lo​ndon

Chicago occult map

A little project I've been working on. Collecting locations of occult organizations and business from Chicago's history. Here is a screenshot of the work in progress, mainly places from around 1910 to the mid-1970s.

Some praise for "Symbiosis"

Here are a few of the responses from people who've ordered their copy of my handmade book, Symbiosis. I've removed names to protect the innocent. I hope that nobody minds!

"Truly intimate and quite delicate feeling too, it really conveys your intentions! I love the glyph on the front , quite beautiful.
I'll stop though, in fear of sounding too sycophantic, however I will treasure it always!"

"Hey, just want to say the book is awesome. I love the wax seal and the cover binding."

"The images and book are so beautiful! I am so glad to have a piece of your art.
I'm taking it to Japan with me to show all my artist friends:)"

"Thank you Mr Rik Garrett for the copy of your handmade book. It's too beautiful to be in this building site I call a home, the quality of the paper is amazing and quite frankly, I'm too scared to touch it with my grubby builder's hands."

"It's beautiful, Rik! Thank you very much(...) I hope you're getting a lot of great feedback, it is deserved."




visit the Symbiosis page to find out more