Carl Abrahamsson's Blog, page 55
January 30, 2018
New video: Behind the behind
The third video from my album THE LARVAL STAGE OF A BOOKWORM is called Behind the Behind and you can enjoy it right here…
The album is available from Highbrow Lowlife and all other digisphere outlets.
January 26, 2018
”Intuition as a state of grace” now available as an audio book
A recording of an online lecture about the power of art and intuition in the magical process of individuation, originally presented for the Society of Sentience, January 2nd, 2018.
”Where art for so long has touched upon “attribute” rather than on “essence”, there seems to be a shift going on in which the positions are being diametrically changed. The essential meaning becomes more important than that of the attribute of esthetics and commercial value. This of course brings us back to primordial times when it was indeed more important that the artwork contained power than an attractive surface. When language gradually took over, rationality and structure followed suit. Yet the need for the primordial, magical expression has always been there all along and now seems to finally resurface within its own perimeters.”
You can get the recording/audiobook of this lecture at Highbrow Lowlife or at iTunes.
This text is also part of my book Occulture – the unseen forces that drive culture forward, published by Inner Traditions in March 2018. You can order this book HERE!
January 25, 2018
Beyond the Darkness podcast
I was recently interviewed by David Schrader for the Beyond the Darkness podcast, focusing on my book Occulture – the unseen forces that drive culture forward (Inner Traditions, 2018). Please check it out HERE!
January 24, 2018
Not one but two new videos
My wonderful wife, Vanessa Sinclair, has made two new videos. Just like that. One is for the track I’m in love with a witch from my solo album The larval stage of a bookworm, and the other is from our forthcoming album Switching mirrors (the track is called Opening doors we didn’t know existed). Enjoy! Enjoy!
For more on what we do, please check out our Patreon page. Thanks!
January 23, 2018
Please support our Patreon page!
My wife Vanessa Sinclair and I are heading into Patreon-land. We’re working so hard on so many creative projects, and a “Patreonic” progress/success could facilitate even more time, space and opportunities. So, if you appreciate what we’re doing, please join us on our Patreon page so that we can take everything further… Thank you! “Always a pleasure!”
Please support our PATREON page right here!
January 20, 2018
Carl Jung lecture on Vimeo
A video recording of my lecture ”Carl Jung – Myth Maker” held January 14th 2018 is now online on Vimeo.
In the development of concepts like the “archetypes” and the “collective unconscious”, Carl Jung not only looked at isolated myths in themselves but also at their artistic expressions. He claimed that there is an impulse-generating layer in the psyche that is shared by all human beings and that can be directly accessed through introspection, dreams, the study of myths and personal, artistic work. A certain culture can possess a more rational or “civilised” construction than another but the basic psychological foundations are in essence the same globally. Jung’s travels around the world and his collection of data confirmed his theories and became an important part of his system. In this lecture I talk about Jungian concepts, the importance of myths and how we could possibly re-enchant the world with a little help from this influential Swiss psychologist and artist.
Occulture: Carl Jung – Myth Maker from Carl Abrahamsson on Vimeo.
January 19, 2018
Brion Gysin: His name was master
Brion Gysin: His Name Was Master (Trapart Books 2018)
Texts and Interviews by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, with Peter Christopherson. Edited with notes by Andrew M. McKenzie. Introductions by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge & Carl Abrahamsson.
Brion Gysin (1916–86) has been an incredibly influential artist and iconoclast: his development of the “cut-up” technique with William S. Burroughs has inspired generations of writers, artists and musicians. Gysin was also a skilled networker and revered expat: together with his friend Paul Bowles, he more or less constructed the post-beatnik romanticism for life and magic in Morocco, and was also a protagonist in an international gay culture with inspirational reaches in both America and Europe. Not surprisingly, Gysin has become something of a cult figure.
One of the artists he inspired is Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, who collaborated with both Gysin and Burroughs in the 1970s, during his work with Throbbing Gristle and COUM Transmissions. The interviews made by P-Orridge have since become part of a New Wave/Industrial mythos. This volume presents them in their entirety alongside three texts on Gysin by P-Orridge, plus an introduction. This book is an exclusive insight into the mind of a man P-Orridge describes as “a kind of Leonardo da Vinci of the last century,” and a fantastic complement to existing biographies and monographs.
This amazing book is available as a paperback, hardback and in a bundle with a Genesis P-Orridge print edition.
Please note: this book is now available on pre-order. Orders will be sent out late February 2018.
The book Brion Gysin: His Name Was Master focusses on the creative relationship between Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and Brion Gysin. To celebrate the release of this long awaited book, we have made an edition together with Genesis of a truly classic P-Orridge image: ”Mum & Dad” from 1971. The print is on archival paper in size A3 (420 x 297 mm) and is limited to 32 signed, stamped and numbered copies. Together with the print comes a hardbound copy of the book (copies 1-32 out of one hundred in total).
Please note: this book is now available on pre-order (book orders will be sent out late February 2018). The print is available NOW and will be dispatched separately and immediately after ordering.
January 17, 2018
”The larval stage of a bookworm” is released today
My new solo album The larval stage of a bookworm is released today on Highbrow Lowlife. It’s available all over the digisphere but please support independent label-endeavours by buying direct from the Highbrow Lowlife site. Thanks!
So far, three videos have been made for the album… The latest one, I’m in love with a witch, was made by my wife Vanessa Sinclair.
January 15, 2018
Occulture: Crowley & Steiner lecture coming up
OCCULTURE: What remains for the future? An initial attempt at a comparison between Aleister Crowley & Rudolf Steiner. A WEBINAR/ONLINE LECTURE, FEBRUARY 4th.
In this lecture, I take an in-depth look at the many similarities (as well as differences) between these industrious gentlemen who became such influential ”players” during the 20th century. With Crowley’s Thelema on one hand and Steiner’s Anthroposophy on the other, we can look at them both firmly in the middle as beacons of a very individual(istic) kind of striving, in which eastern techniques and philosophies merged with western occultism. As we’ll see, there was more that united these powerful pioneers than set them apart.
When? Sunday, February 4th, 2018, at 20-22 GMT+1 / 19-21 GMT / 2-4pm EST / 11am-1pm PST
After the lecture there will be an opportunity for a Q&A/discussion.
To take part of this lecture/webinar, please send $18 via PayPal to: carl AT carlabrahamsson DOT com After you have paid, I will send you all the relevant information/links. The number of attendee “seats” is limited, so please act fast.
”Intuition as a state of grace” on Vimeo
The most recent lecture in my OCCULTURE series is now online on Vimeo. Enjoy!
It was originally presented/recorded on January 2nd, 2018, for the Society of Sentience.
”Where art for so long has touched upon “attribute” rather than on “essence”, there seems to be a shift going on in which the positions are being diametrically changed. The essential meaning becomes more important than that of the attribute of esthetics and commercial value. This of course brings us back to primordial times when it was indeed more important that the artwork contained power than an attractive surface. When language gradually took over, rationality and structure followed suit. Yet the need for the primordial, magical expression has always been there all along and now seems to finally resurface within its own perimeters.”
For more information, please visit: carlabrahamsson.com and societyofsentience.org
If you want to stay informed about upcoming online lectures and webinars, please sign up for the newsletter at this very site (mid page, right column).
Carl Abrahamsson: The OCCULTURE lecture series 2018
Art, magic, and the occult have been intimately linked since our prehistoric ancestors created the first cave paintings some 50,000 years ago. As civilizations developed, these esoteric forces continued to drive culture forward, both visibly and behind the scenes, from the Hermetic ideas of the Renaissance, to the ethereal worlds of 19th century Symbolism, to the occult interests of the Surrealists. In this lecture series exploring “occulture” – the liminal space where art and magic meet – I reveal the integral role played by magic and occultism in the development of culture throughout history as well as their relevance to the continuing survival of art and creativity. Blending magical history and esoteric philosophy, I look at the phenomena and people who have been seminal in modern esoteric developments.
This lecture is part of my book Occulture: the unseen forces that drive culture forward. The book can be ordered HERE. Thank you!
Occulture: Intuition as a state of grace from Carl Abrahamsson on Vimeo.
