#term two

[junow-honours]

Occultism, rituals and spirituality

Some notes and research.

Contexts where occultist rituals and practices exist today

Modern witchcraft and Paganism: belief that nature, and natural cycles of birth, growth, and death are sacred and carry profound spiritual significance. 

Polytheism: The belief and practice of worshipping more than one God. Multiple deities assembled in a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Fourth century term: early Christianity and Roman empire

Roman Paganism: 12 Pagan Gods, Roman version of Greek Gods:  Jupiter, Juno, Vesta, Ceres, Mercury, Mars, Apollo, Diana, Vulcan, Poseidon, Minerva, and Venus. Also worshipping foreign gods, such as the Egyptian goddess Isis and the Persian god Mithras

Theism: Belief in the existence of a god or gods; a creator who intervenes in the universe. All-supreme being

Monotheism: The doctrine or belief that there is only a singular God

Wicca: Is a modern neo-pagan syncretic (characterized or brought about by a combination of different forms of belief or practice) religion. Scholars of religion categorize it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist Western esotericism.

Esotericism: Can be described as a Western form of spirituality that stresses the importance of the individual effort to gain spiritual knowledge, or gnosis, whereby man is confronted with the divine aspect of existence.

Gnosis: Refers to knowledge based on personal experience or perception. In a religious context, gnosis is mystical or esoteric knowledge based on direct participation with the divine. In most Gnostic systems, the sufficient cause of salvation is this "knowledge of" ("acquaintance with") the divine.

Holism: Characterized by the belief that the parts of something are interconnected and can be explained only by reference to the whole. 

Occultism generally refers to the study and exploration of hidden or esoteric knowledge, practices, and spiritual traditions. It often involves rituals, divination, and seeking connections to supernatural forces or dimensions.

[junow-honours]

Final updated plan/ map

[junow-honours]

Midyear Checklist

Board game:

Three realms completed

Realms printed

Laser cut backing board for all realms

Acrylic rods brought and cut to length

Tiers and structural poles organized and assembled

Mat of shadow worlds completed and printed

Frame:

Completed (inner boards)

Sanded and edges cleaned up

No Gaps

Painted white

Card ‘grooves, indents, lifted areas’ arranged and attached

Cord allocation

LED lights attached

Board game components:

Character pieces (3 Gods, and 3 within each realm)

Location landmarks- architecture, object

Accessory pieces

Installation:

Space clean and walls done

Table

Chair hire (5 regular, 1 ‘dungeon master’ chair)

My space cleaned, holes filled, walls painted

My stuff packed away or taken home

Collateral:

Artist statement

Accompanying board game RPG manual x2 (Locations and Archetypes)

[junow-honours]

Notes

Rectangle Table: Has pre-established confrontational or supportive relationships. If you are on the opposite side of the table as someone else then there is a preconception that you are opponents, if you are sitting with someone by your side, there is a preconception that you are part of a team. The two heads of the table are spaces reserved for leaders, or players of higher importance.

Prompts: For touching vs no touching. What can be touched, and what is off-bounds, why and how? Down to the lore and context of the game. Permission, esoteric knowledge, what makes you deserving of this? Do you need to achieve something to have the right to earn this?

Labyrinth: Different pathways, secret paths, hidden doors. Element of surprise or discovery

Religious values and allegories: Finding purpose, meaning or value in life, why are we here? Why should we want to do good? Why should we avoid doing bad? The afterlife, finding achievement in one’s lifetime. Objective and subjective truth.

For next semester: Using sound as a way to intensify the sense of action of excitement in the game, or to make it feel more mystical or frightening

Lit Review notes from Yolunda:

First talk about established ideas and evidence, then finish with personal statements

Find an academic source on Dungeons & Dragons

Acknowledging the linguistic preconceptions of 'enchantment’ in its relation to fantasy, vs Jane Bennett’s interpretation of ‘enchantment’ within a New Materialism context. This is fine to make this stretch, as long as the differences and limitations have been acknowledged and explained. 

Being specific and tight with word choices and statements

Write through your contradictory feelings

Use Academic Phrase bank for statement starters

Write about Simon Denny, because an external assessor will most likely ask about the clear connection

Yolunda notes on exhibition/ work:

Photo media light, rug?

Occultism - Mysticism

Mary MacGregor-Reid’s blogs: The Sacred and the Profane

Think about your position in the game. What is the game, how does it work, why would people want to play it?

Olivia Plender 2010 Auckland Triennial. ‘Last Ride in a Hot Air Balloon.’ Spiritualize society board game

Fox Sisters- spiritualism

Parlour games

Seance

[junow-honours]

Thank you so much Matt for these photos! I wish I went to Armageddon over the weekend, that was a missed opportunity of seeing actual table setups and being able to have conversations with players and ask questions.. However, I have a friend who actively hosts DND sessions and I’ve asked her if I could attend to watch and take notes, so at least I’ll have this chance of asking questions about how I can improve my game and what her group values the most about the gameplay

Also, really love the terrain maps here. Been thinking about that for my own project and seeing this picture has confirmed my plans

[junow-honours]

Critique session notes:

31.05.23

Table felt like you are looking into a portal- as if you are a God looking down onto earth, or hellscape

Bird’s eye viewpoint- connection to skydiving or travelling in planes, sense of freedom, thrill, and escapism

The frame- the seating in a stadium, the audience. Also a separation device

Cards on the frame- pulls the characters out from the world and behind the frame with the viewer. Cards facing you suggest that this is your character.

Capitalism- are we complicit or are we victims? Are we the machine or are we victims of the machine?

Distancing mechanisms

Illusion of power, control, and distance

Frame also creates an invisible forcefield surface- what will breach this forcefield and will remain contained within it? Will the obelisk breach it?

AI cards- better feedback than I expected, yay- Eldritch (uncanny, otherworldly), HP Lovecraft, unseeable Gods, unattainable language. Feels like a glitch, matrix, or the moment when you’re trying to read in a dream but the words don’t make sense.

How much specific knowledge do we need to have to encounter this?

Game looks playable, but you don’t yet understand the nuances behind it, and don’t feel like you ever will, it feels overly complicated

Reply to previous note: But doesn’t that reflect the world we exist within? We don’t know what is going on but we do our best to keep going

Black hole, or rabbit hole. How much is too much, where it becomes conspiracy?

What is the symbolic language at play?

Tapping into cultural vernacular

Establishing rules, ways of engagement, or where to begin

Understanding the signs of a boardgame, but not understanding how to play this particular game- is this something I have intended, or not?

People who have experience of ‘gaming’ feel like this is more approachable, and know how to engage in it, whereas people who don’t have this experience can’t understand it

Video-game POV- feels like the map they give you for navigation and quest goals

UNLOCKED ROOMS- gauzy screen blocking out map

What access to different levels do we have? Is there an upgrade level, secret level? Is there a boss level? What do you have to do to earn it?

Who has access to what and when and how?

Level of knowledge, enchants or disenchants playing as a factor into how far you get

Unfinished shelf (the underneath and tucked away)- secrets, space, reveals and hides, has value to it- slow burning corridors, pathways to secret places and discoveries

Hidden lore

Tabletop space- neutral space- relationship between the board and table, should the whole table be activated and alive? Visual image, digital images, Warhammer style diorama?- 3Dimensional space, rising and falling of pathways, emerging from flat surfaces

What is flat? What is image? What is dimension?

What material knowledge system it comes in

Mary McGregor Reid: DND models, ask Justine at the library if I could have a conversation with her

Rectangular shape of table- looks like TV screen. Dining table dynamics. All have a structural place, engagement and operation, hierarchy, competition and teamwork, opposite side suggests rivalry, whereas the person sitting next to you seems to be your team mate. Natural congregation around tables.

Dungeon Master having the head of the table- how is this different from the other seats? Seat as prompt. Image as signifier as it not being a players seat.

Stage of the game presented- has been it been played? Is it mid-game? Is it after the game has finished?

Do I want them to play or not? Performance? Someone sitting at the head of the table, or playing?

Prompts to INCLUDE or EXCLUDE people. Inviting or not?

Interactive, performative, or an object to look at? ENCOUNTER

Level of SPECIFICITY- level of buy-in. Fans want specifics of the story and invented mythology. Level of detail is crucial. LORE HUNTING. Fan cultures of internet culture and media- code, deep diving, easter eggs

“Ancient mythologies” in statement- too broad, needs to be specified

Ironic or serious? Celebration or critique?

Celine Frampton- AI- Four Apostles who witnessed the crucifixion. 4 different viewpoints around the event.

Triangulate the viewpoints on that history. Each God’s viewpoint on the same subject

Characterisation beyond card content of character

AI- loop over and over- AI dealing with human and emotional narratives- highlights the gaps and failures

AI- how do you know what is intentional and what isn’t? Incorporating the failures into the project

Reference to contemporary, or futuristic, places. Not just ancient. Familiarity

Battle Angel Alita (Manga)- garbage chute of razors

Two locations- how to get from A to B?

Material Investigation can be pushed - seriousness with the treatment of materials, materials that are weighty, cold, feel ancient

Small resin trinkets- 1:4 scale, feels like a reward, or token to be won

Items, physical inventory. Things. Materiality to make things mire substantial

[junow-honours]

My artist statement for critiques

[junow-honours]

The Underworld Board

First of 3 realms completed, though I am going to see if I can get some laser-cut perspex to replace the thick cardboard mats