Episode 101 - Emily Leon - Esotericism, Modern Art and Hilma af Klint

For this episode my guest is art historian Emily Leon. Emily’s research focuses on modernism and the esoteric interests of late-19th and early-20th century western artists, with a particular concentration on abstraction and the links between art, science, and religion. Since 2017, much of her scholarship has focused on the social, spiritual, and theoretical implications of Swedish artist Hilma af Klint’s work. Most recently, in 2023 she presented “Past-Future, Present-Future, Future-Future: Hilma af Klint in Three Temporal Dimensions” for the Modernist Futures conference, hosted by Modernist Studies in Asia. 

Emily is also the founder of the transdisciplinary working group 'In the Eggshell', a five-part lecture series that seeks to redress modern art by turning to how the sciences, religious beliefs, and occult traditions provide a better articulation of the subject.

In the interview I begin by talking with her about the origins of the relationship between esotericism and modern, abstract art. From there our conversation moves on to Hilma af Klint, specifically the occult ideas that influenced her art as well as the unusual methods she used such as spirit channeling that were a vital aspect of her craft. We also discuss the deeper meaning of Af Klint’s artwork and the vision she had for how it was meant be displayed, before concluding by talking about Emily’s own efforts to encourage a better understanding of the relationship between modern art, science and esotericism with the 'In the Eggshell' lecture series.

Emily can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DisincarnateEVL and more details on 'In the Eggshell' are available at https://desertsuprematism.com/.

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