Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art

by Robert Cozzolino (Editor)

America is haunted. Ghosts from its violent history—the genocide of Indigenous peoples, slavery, the threat of nuclear annihilation, and traumatic wars—are an inescapable and unsettled part of the nation’s heritage. Not merely in the realm of metaphor but present and tangible, urgently calling for contact, these otherworldly visitors have been central to our national identity. Through times of mourning and trauma, artists have been integral to visualizing ghosts, whether national or personal, and in doing so have embraced the uncanny and the inexplicable. This stunning catalog, accompanying the first major exhibition to assess the spectral in American art, explores the numerous ways American artists have made sense of their own experiences of the paranormal and the supernatural, developing a rich visual culture of the intangible.

​Featuring artists from James McNeill Whistler and Kerry James Marshall to artist/mediums who made images with spirits during séances, this catalog covers more than two hundred years of the supernatural in American art. Here we find works that explore haunting, UFO sightings, and a broad range of experiential responses to other worldly contact.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Paranormal, Ghosts, History

320 pages, Hardcover

Published August 3, 2021

Reviews

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, the exhibit catalogue and commentary for a recent touring exhibit of American art related to the supernatural. The book's design and the plate reproductions are first rate and the selection of artwork esoteric and generally excellent. Sections include art of "haunted America," witchy feminist art, Black American art, "outsider" and primitive art (including some really superb examples of UFOs as occult objects), and art associated with spiritualism allegedly produced by spirits. The curator took pains to make the collection inclusive with regard to gender, race, and culture. I would love to have seen the exhibit at one of the museums it visited, and I suppose there's still hope for that with the world re-emerging from pandemic lockdown.

My only criticisms here are of the accompanying essays, many of which are informative and excellent. The two longest though suffer from what I can only call "believerism," the acceptance of every absurd story of trance and transcendence as truth. While this is certainly an interesting tack to take when dealing with the supernatural, it is also woefully incomplete. With regard to things like spirit photos and trance painting, the enormously greater likelihood is that the artifacts were products of gross fraud, aimed at stealing the money of bereaved people. There are few lower life forms walking upright than the conman who robs a grieving parent. The commentary should at least speak to this possibility -- that the art was a crook's tool of thievery and deception -- but the author proudly presents himself as a firm believer in all things supernatural, a dubious pose to strike and one that needs a counterbalance. To be clear, my own attitude toward the occult side of things is to approach it with an open mind, ask questions, and don't be shy about pointing out that the medium just spat cotton cloth ectoplasm onto the seance table. None of this detracts from the art itself but the frame needs a polish.

Recommended but with some content that is likely to irritate anyone who isn't a gullible believer in the full range of New Age nonsense.

[Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

“To remember is to confront ghosts, to ask what they want, to make amends, and to learn to live with them.” Supernatural America, (2021)

American Supernatural: The Paranormal in American Art, a lavish catalog for the traveling exhibition of the same name organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art to examine art “asserting that the supernatural is natural” is packed with fascinating essays by curators, artists, and art historians that cause me to consider my interests in ghosts and the paranormal in new ways.

I was struck by these ideas after visiting the exhibit at MiA earlier in 2022, “the first exhibition in the field of American art history to directly address this subject,” viewing its eerie, enchanting pieces, including paintings, photographs, multimedia works, and spiritual artifacts. This coffee table book is a great companion to revisit the museum’s space but also provides much deeper analyses of its themes, particularly through curator Robert Cozzolino’s introductory essay discussing how artists, particularly those from marginalized communities experience otherworldly experiences as more than just metaphors for the injustices of our white supremacist society. The essays collected here explore the subject from many fascinating and thought provoking angles, providing in depth knowledge on how the visual arts affect the haunted status of place in many ways, both mournful and joyful.

I discuss other books exploring memory, place, and ghosts at Harris' Tome Corner.

[Richelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was incredibly fortunate to have seen the Supernatural America art exhibition in person (twice!) at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2022. This coffee table book is the perfect written and visual companion to the exhibit. The first half of the book contains a collection of essays expounding upon the themes from the exhibition. The second half contains photographs or “plates” of the artwork featured in the exhibition. I was surprised there was no essay about UFOs in the book, and I remembered that in the exhibition, that section very much felt like an afterthought. Nevertheless, this book provided additional context into the exhibition without it being a replacement for viewing the exhibition in person.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic, thought provoking set of essays and images. Good for the mind. Good for the soul. I appreciated the exploration of this lens for looking at art and American history.

Perfectly curated, and reliably respectful to mystics and skeptics alike.

[Jonathan Frederick Walz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not withouts its flaws, but an important and groundbreaking contribution to the field and to the realm of exhibitions. Bravo, #TeamSupernatural !

[eat fug · Rating 5 out of 5]

This exhibition was life changing. Thank you, Bob