Ritual
A Deep Dive Into the Technological and Ritual Interfaces of the Soylent Green Thanatorium
Scifiinterfaces.com offers this series of in-depth articles analyzing the various interfaces shown in the Soylent Green (1973) thanatorium sequence: When considering this model for the real world, we should take great exception to the no-questions-asked expediency seen in Soylent Green. We would want such a service to be slow, deliberative, and life-affirming, with counseling and assistance … Read moreA Deep Dive Into the Technological and Ritual Interfaces of the Soylent Green Thanatorium
“Beyond Granite: the Future of the Public Square”
A short video preview of the upcoming Beyond Granite project, which will invite visionary artists to create special commemorative works, performances, and installations on the National Mall and throughout the District of Columbia.
“The Contemplative, Unnerving Beauty of the Sandy Hook Memorial”
Jesse Dorris writes for The New Yorker on the newly-unveiled permanent memorial for the six teachers and twenty young children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012: The memorial’s spatial poetics—the balance between circular pathways and blocks of granite, its enduring engravings of names in stone and perennials for texture and color … Read more“The Contemplative, Unnerving Beauty of the Sandy Hook Memorial”
Days of Life and Death: Seasonal Observances
On Sunday I presented my “Unboxing an Antique Ghost Show” show-and-tell lecture for an audience at the Chicago Insect Asylum art gallery. After a couple of years of performing the presentation via Zoom for various organizations around Halloween, it was fun – and rather poignant – to be able to show my Dad’s collection of … Read moreDays of Life and Death: Seasonal Observances
Shiva Honey on “The Devil’s Death”
Sacred Tension podcast host Stephen Bradford Long interviews author Shiva Honey on her new book The Devil’s Death, a guide to the ritual, philosophical and practical matters of dying and death from the modern Satanic perspective. The book is available here.
“… with hope that this assemblage of rubble would become a shrine …”
My new article for OnlySky Media is a memoir of my year-long experiment in public art/memorial: In 2015 I moved to Rogers Park, and during the Summer Solstice of 2021 was inspired to join the Artists of the Wall project. I painted my roughly four-foot section of the wall a midnight blue, and upon that field … Read more“… with hope that this assemblage of rubble would become a shrine …”
Riverside Shrine
Since moving to our new riverside neighborhood, I’ve been in the habit of leaving small memorial tokens – leaves, pieces of bark, twigs, etc. – on this tree stump along the river pathway. Very occasionally, there’s been evidence that others are likewise leaving items on the stump, though their purpose is unknown to me. This … Read moreRiverside Shrine
“Returning Home” with the Ishti Collective
This evening I was intrigued to happen across an artistic memorial ritual taking place within minutes of my home. The Ishti Collective’s Returning Home ritual honors those who have returned to the earth via a symbolic ceremony involving rangoli designs and a short walking meditation, followed by a graceful dance performance.
The “Radical Ritual” Series
In 2017, Burning Man’s theme was “Radical Ritual,” and the Burning Man Philosophical Center project produced a series of essays and interviews exploring the place of ritual in modern society. Here’s a section from Larry Harvey’s introductory essay: Is Burning Man a Religion? “The practical needs and experiences of religion seem to me sufficiently met … Read moreThe “Radical Ritual” Series