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Shannon Taggart

Shannon Taggart: Séance Hardcover – November 26, 2019

by Shannon Taggart (Author, Photographer), Dan Aykroyd (Foreword), Andreas Fischer (Contributor),

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One of Time Magazine's best photo book of 2019

American photographer Shannon Taggart (born 1975) became aware of spiritualism as a teenager when her cousin received a message from a medium that revealed details about her grandfather's death. In 2001, while working as a photojournalist, she began photographing where that message was received―Lily Dale, New York, home to the world's largest spiritualist community, proceeding to other communities in, for example, Arthur Findlay College in the UK. Taggart expected to spend one summer figuring out the tricks of the spiritualist trade. Instead, spiritualism’s mysterious processes, earnest practitioners and neglected photographic history became an inspiration. Her project evolved into an 18-year journey that has taken her around the world in search of “ectoplasm”― the elusive substance that is said to be both spiritual and material.

With Séance, Taggart offers a series of haunting photographs exploring spiritualist practices in the US, England and Europe. Supported with a commentary on her experiences, a foreword by Dan Aykroyd, creator of Ghostbusters and fourth-generation spiritualist, and illustrated essays from Andreas Fischer and Tony Oursler, Séance examines spiritualism’s relationship with human celebrity and its connections with technology, and concludes with the debate over ectoplasm and how spiritualism can move forward in the 21st century.

Print length

298 pages
Language

English
Publisher

FULGUR PRESS
Publication date

November 26, 2019
Dimensions

12 x 1 x 9.7 inches
ISBN-10

1527236315
ISBN-13

978-1527236318
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The photographs in “Séance” are often most resonant when they slip furthest from photography’s ties to proof. At the heart of the book are Taggart’s portraits of individuals, alone and in community, seeking to make connections to the unseen. -- Rebecca Bengal ― New York Times: T Magazine

Shannon Taggart, a photographer whose passion for documenting Spiritualist rituals began in Lily Dale, has spent nearly two decades capturing the practices by which mediums (and their curious customers) attempt to reach those beyond the veil. ― Paris Review

Taggart’s captivating photos and their captions are each enthralling in their own right, but made all the more powerful thanks to the rich essays and historical information that precede them. This book is a marvel. -- Maika ― Haute Macabre

Shannon Taggart’s book Séance presents images from within contemporary Spiritualist communities that most of us are totally unaware of, offering an eerie but sometimes very sweet portrait of a religion that is shrouded in darkness. -- Emily Gosling ― Elephant

Séance illuminates the objects that are integral to spiritualist practices. Cutlery, radios and handkerchiefs are among the strange assortment of household items harnessed to bridge the gap between living and dead. By experimenting with chiaroscuro and exposure, Taggart casts these objects in an otherworldly light, haunting the viewer with a sense of the uncanny. -- Madeleine Pollard ― Financial Times

Taggart’s photos...are beautiful, tender, and frequently eerie, as images of wonder and faith, hovering at the threshold of invisible worlds, should be. -- Alex Jovanovich ― Bookforum

A photographer’s 18-year quest to uncover Spiritualism’s radical feminist history. -- Sara Rosen ― Document Journal

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ FULGUR PRESS (November 26, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 298 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1527236315
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1527236318
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.22 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12 x 1 x 9.7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,969,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,354 in Individual Photographer Monographs
- #4,212 in Spiritualism
- #4,762 in Photograpy Equipment & Techniques

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Barbara M.

Breathtaking and Enlightening

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 2, 2020

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This book is a treasure and a monumental achievement. The images--both Taggart's own work and the many historical photographs she includes--are dazzling, and the articles and stories are fascinating, informative and often very moving. In my opinion, this gorgeously designed book will hold appeal for anyone interested in matters of the spirit and spiritual questing. I have it sitting on my coffee table, and skeptics and believers alike, along with friends who have never given the afterlife much thought, find it irresistible! The book is a conversation piece, an engrossing history, and a work of art.

4 people found this helpful

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Ashley S.

Familiar and foreign, old and new

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 30, 2020

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I grew up just a few minutes from Lilydale, and it has always held a special place in my heart. Shannon managed to make the feeling and essence of Lilydale and the spiritualist movement come though in the gorgeous photos in this book. I cannot believe how good this work is. Ms. Taggart also packed a ton of information in here. I recommend this for EVERYONE.

One person found this helpful

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Weird Historian

Absolutely beautiful book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 21, 2020

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Shannon Taggart has put together a wondrous book that conveys her passion for the subject and portrays the mystery and curiosity of Spiritualism. Stunning photographs, stories from her experiences over the years, and just enough history of Victorian-era Spiritualism make this book a must-have.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 19, 2020

Verified Purchase

Love this book. The photos are spellbinding and the information that accompanies them is very interesting. Definitely recommended for others, even those who may not subscribe to the subject matter. Very enlightening.

One person found this helpful

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Laura

A sacred object

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 18, 2021

I have never owned a book like this. The way it is put together makes it feel like a magical object. Just flipping through the pages is a kind of solemn, sacred thing that I save for special occasions.

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LaurenT

Great book by a great photographer & researcher

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 13, 2020

I’m fortunate to know Shannon personally for 20 years now (and to be quoted and pictured in this amazing book). She’s truly an artist, and a scholar, as this book demonstrates. (It’s out of print as I update this. Used copies are at about 9 times the issue price).

Everyone I’ve given this book to is impressed by the thorough research as well as by the intriguing photos Shannon took, and by the historical ones she included.

Shows of her work are now evolving as of 9/2021. Look her up!

One person found this helpful

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Maureen T Reilly

An amazing insider's look into Spiritualism and Seances

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 30, 2019

I've followed Shannon's work for a very long time now and to see her curated collection of images and the stories that go along with them is a real treat. You can look at her book in as many ways as you can see Spiritualism itself... The book is a collection of artfully crafted photography, it's a photo-document of a fringe religion we all see throughout film and literature but rarely know much about, and it's a collection of anecdotes which run from heartfelt, to hilarious. If nothing else, it is a genuine conversation starter and the images alone will get you thinking.

One person found this helpful

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Reader

A fascinating book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 15, 2020

Shannon Taggart's extraordinary photographs in Séance capture the liminal space between life and death, the carnal and the spiritual: in her words, "a borderland." Photography was always part of the spiritualist project and Taggart's book includes many of these historical images. With lucid and informative essays by Taggart, the artist Tony Oursler and the curator Andreas Fischer (and a forward by Dan Aykroyd, a fourth-generation Spiritualist!), and detailed stories that accompany each photograph, Séance is at once art and scholarship. I, for one, am so grateful that this book exists!

One person found this helpful

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Yellowmoon

stratosferico

Reviewed in Italy 🇮🇹 on December 25, 2019

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E' un testo per i cultori del genere. nel mio caso è stato il regalo di Natale per mia sorella, arrivato in tempo, ben imballato, ancora incellophanato. La qualità dell'edizione è ottima e la copertina in cartone telato con impressi caratteri dorati è bellissima. le fotografie contenute nel testo sono a colori e in bianco e nero, anch'esse di qualità ottima. sono soddisfattissima, il libro vale il prezzo d'acquisto

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Shannon Taggart: Séance Hardcover – November 26, 2019

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