Female Creatives and Spirit Photography in the 19th Century
1h 20m
Join guest lecturer Lucy Cade to explore the mysterious origins of spirit photography and mediumship, which rose to popularity across Britain and the US during the Industrial period of the mid to late 1800s.
Through archival photographs and written accounts, Lucy Cade will establish the context for the birth of spirit photography and spirit mediumship. We will also find out about techniques, such as double exposures and ectoplasmic collages, which were largely pioneered by female mediums and allowed them to blur the lines between art and mediumship, almost pushing it into the realms of performance art.
We will find out how the lack of political agency and suffrage propelled countless women towards mediumship as a creative outlet and how the women of this movement made a creative life for themselves outside of the arts academy. We’ll also zoom out to look into the ripple effects of spirit photography on the art world which inspired the works of visionary painters like Georgiana Houghton and Hilma af Klint.
This lecture will give us a unique angle through which to explore feminism, creativity, Surrealism and Abstraction, as well as touch upon Victorian ideas about death and legacy.
ABOUT THE LECTURER
Lucy Cade is an artist and educator who is interested in the portrayal of the feminine and motherhood. She has shown extensively in the UK in the last few years including recent shows at Genesis Cinema (solo show ' View of the Screen' with Dark Yellow Dot) and The Exhibitionist Hotel (group show with Cynthia Corbett Gallery), as well as being shortlisted for the Wells Art Contemporary 2023 . She studied Classics and Art History for her first degree at Oxford University. Following the Turps Correspondence Course in 2021-22, she recently completed her Masters in Fine Art at City & Guilds of London Art School. She is also a fully qualified teacher who has taught Art and Art History in a variety of educational contexts, including schools, art centres and galleries. She has mentored other artist-mothers through the Spilt Milk Gallery Mentoring Programme.
Instagram: @lucycadeartist
Website: https://lucycade.wordpress.com/
This is a recording of a live session hosted by The Feminist Lecture Program in March 2024. The reading list for the class can be found alongside this rental.
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FLP x