I am very happy to have posted in YouTube the second of our “Book Nook” series of author interviews with new author Shannon Taggart. I think I am really on to something in having authors provide in their own words their raison d’etre for presenting their often complex but ever so intriguing subject matter generously agreeing to submit to an informal conversation oft times interrupted by my inquisitive cats while seated in my New York apartment. I had the chance to sit down with Shannon Taggart to discuss her recently published magnificent book of photographs and commentary “SÉANCE” published by Fulgur Press.
Shannon is an artist photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. Her photographs have been exhibited and featured internationally, including within such publications as TIME, New York Times Magazine, Discover, and Newsweek. Her work has been recognized by Nikon, Magnum Photos and the Inge Morath Foundation, American Photography, and the Alexia Foundation for World Peace. She has been scholar and artist in residence at the Morbid Anatomy Museum. We at Parapsychology Foundation are proud to have early on recognized her talent and dedication to her art and thus awarded her our Rogo Award for Parapsychological Media in 2017. In part with PF support, she traveled to Murcia, Spain to interview and photograph two of the most important figures in modern Spiritualism, Robin and Sandra Foy.
“SÉANCE”, with its cache of incredible photographs, consists of a foreword by Dan Aykroyd, the famed actor and beloved “ghostbuster” who is well versed in the subject as was his father Peter Aykroyd who wrote in 2009 the lauded “A History of Ghosts” which graces the shelves of our Eileen Garrett Research Library. Of great value to readers and researchers within “SÉANCE” are contributions by Tony Oursler “Notes on Mysticism and Visual Transects” as well as commentary by curator, Andreas Fischer “A photographic Journal into the Realm of Spiritualism”. Shannon herself presents “Introduction: Spiritualism, Photography and the Search for Ectoplasm” followed by “The Stories” which readers will find fascinating.
As Shannon relates “I planned to spend one summer taking photographs of Lily Dale’s quirky community, filled with characters that place the living and the dead on parallel planes. But, by the end of the first summer I could not leave.” As Dan Aykroyd states in the foreword “As a one-time newcomer to understanding the supernatural, she has given us the most comprehensive and exciting written treatise to date on Spiritualism and its headquarters, Lily Dale, in New York State.” Of import is Shannon’s telling statement that “I am not arguing for or against the reality of the supernatural: that debate has endured for thousands of years…I present the material I have encountered over the past eighteen years as accurately as possible, without judgment.” Shannon, with the help of her camera lens, provides a record of at times hard to swallow– pardon the pun– phenomena such as ectoplasm along with the trappings of mediumistic phenomena as recognized in Spiritualism. PF’s mission is also not to attempt to convince people of the veracity of the phenomena but to without bias with scientific rigor and clear thinking examine and study ostensible paranormal happenings which are difficult to understand of vital importance to humankind.
I was touched that she saw fit to start her introduction with this quote from my grandmother Eileen J. Garrett “I asked these spirit figures if I was seeing them or if I was seeing what was in my own brain. They Answered ‘both’”. That quote, like all the content in “SÉANCE”, provokes exciting thoughts and conversations.
I could go on and on…fair warning if you have not guessed…I am quite a fan and consider myself lucky to have over the years formed a warm friendship with her. Let me share a quote from Andreas Fischer in the book who I think just about sums it all up. “Shannon Taggart’s photography is unique, yet it models itself on a long-standing tradition…Taggart’s aim, or better put, her mission—is to document contemporary manifestation of Spiritualism by photography, creating a project that is practically unparalleled in history. She is one of the few photographers with a professional background even to have dedicated time to documenting this genre, and in her case the work is all the more extraordinary by virtue of having been created in a significant period, both of her life and that of the world in general.”
We at PF agree and to have this beautifully produced tome depicting the fruit of her labor and insightful commentary is a treasure. You must get your hands on a copy and quickly as the first run is quickly being depleted and see for yourself what has stirred so much media interest. I sincerely hope that SÉANCE has people taking notice of our fascinating and complex phenomena resulting in more research.
As our American holiday of Thanksgiving approaches I want to wish you all a lovely holiday as I give thanks for you who have kept faithful to PF’s quest for quality information and study into our difficult to grasp perplexing phenomena.