Art, Occultism, and Science in the Time of Hilma af Klint

The Swedish mystic painter Hilma af Klint’s record-breaking exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in 2018 testifies to substantial changes in the reception of art, science and occultisms, particularly a noticeable new openness toward occult and spiritual subjects by artists. More than had been realized previously, scientific developments in the late 19th century (X-rays, radioactivity, the electron, and the still-reigning ether of space) played a key role in creating a new cultural focus on invisible realities beyond the human eye. In the last two decades, excellent scholarship on this and the late 19th and early 20th-century prevalence of occultism has emerged in the histories of art, science, religion, and literature. Occultism became international, with spiritualist journals, translated books, and a network of Theosophical publications making such ideas readily available, including to af Klint in Stockholm. Access to these scientific discoveries and occultism not only provided vital support for spiritualists, Theosophists, and alchemists but also motivated many artists, particularly modernists, to explore these new sciences in their interrelationship with the occult. Now that it is clear that these concepts were not on the margins but were central for many artists and, hence, for modernism itself, this session is intended to showcase recent scholarship in this field.

This conference session, convened by Linda Dalrymple Henderson and Fae (Fay) Brauer, will be part of the College Art Association 113th Annual Conference, New York, Thursday, 13 February 2025 On location at the New York Hilton Midtown, in room: Morgan Suite.