User:Charlie/Thesis Outline

✧ Thesis Outline ✧

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What lays at the intersection of Art and Magic, and how can it serve as a ground for forming

novel and idiosyncratic Magic practices through creative expression?

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Introduction

Protocols for Magic, as the working title for thesis and project, investigates how art and creative expression may support the forming of idiosyncratic Magic practices.

Through historic contextualization, analysis and comparison varying perspectives on Magic, it investigates and puts into question Magic's imposed distinction and complex relationship towards other domains, such as Art, Religion and Science. The first chapter particularly focuses on the framing of Magic as being in direct opposition to scientific thought, and wonders how these narratives have and continue to shape our modern relations to Magic.

Formulating these connections helps to place my findings within a wider societal context, and to address my research to an audience who seeks to probe their own preconceptions, and broaden their understanding and personal relation to Magic.

Within the context of these differing perspectives, the thesis makes an argument for Art and Magic as complementary modes-of-knowledge in the search to understand what lays at the intersection of Art and Magic as the potential basis for forming novel contemporary modes of practicing Magic.

To situate my research within current artistic and magical practices I look to contemporary artists, practitioners and projects that work within the concepts of art-based Magic and/or magic-based Art. These are the terms I employ to distinguish forms of artistic expression that function as a form of Magic, from Art which incorporates ideas of Magic and/or magical symbolism. These references directly inform the material research of my graduation project and Protocols for Magic, which investigate how creative exercises and artistic play, in the form of protocols, can act as didactic tools to facilitate a user's personal relation to Magic.

Ultimately, Protocols for Magic, thesis and project, positions Magic and Art as concepts in flux, inherently personal, yet always shaped by the larger systems they exist in. Whether implicit or explicit. Both as distinct modes of knowledge, yet especially in their interconnected forms, Art and Magic become a way to actively create meaning through connection and participation in the world. Art becomes a conduit to Magic. Making art-based Magic, and its counter part, magical Art, is always subjective but never neutral.

Through this research, I aim to deepen my own understanding and relation to Magic through Art. Yet also, as an artist and designer, I directly connect this artistic research with a public, by taking on the role of facilitator and educator through the creation of new creative tools and frameworks for engaging with Magic as a practice.

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✧ Chapter #1 ✧

Key components

• Outline different definitions and understandings of Magic (~3 positions)
• Establish the intersection of Art and Magic through examples
• Define my personal position and motivation within the thesis and project

The first chapter is an introduction into different understandings of Magic through three working definitions that I compiled from references. Each definition offers a different perspective, illustrated through examples to give insight into the evolution and function of Magic, and establishes its complex and dynamic relation to Art throughout human history. Additionally, with each perspective as a framework, I may introduce and explain distinct categories and practices within Magic, which will directly inform my analysis of artists, practices and projects in chapter two. It also forms the basis for my Protocols for Magic prototypes within the graduation project.

The first section looks at the idea of Magic as a force, as is most frequently found within general definitions of Magic.

From this perspective, I offer a brief overview of the ancient history of Magic. I use well-known examples from prehistory and past civilizations to establish the (often disregarded yet ongoing) prevalence of Magic throughout human history and its significant and long-standing relation to human creative expression and art. (Merriam-Webster) (Cambridge)

The second section discusses Magic as a mode-of-thinking. A framework for Magic most represented in academic and scientific positions.

I exemplify this definition by looking at the origin of our modern (and rationalized) concept of Magic through the distinction and separation of Magic from other modes of knowledge — Science and Religion. This section looks at how all three modes have evolved, interacted and interconnected in various degrees of reciprocity towards each other. And most crucially, how they have interacted with Art, as its own mode-of-knowing.

To understand how and where the contemporary concept of Magic originated and functions today, it is necessary to understand its relation to Science, Religion and Art as socio-cultural and political constructs. (As discussed in Sutcliff e.d., 2021, and Bever, ed. and Styers, ed., 2017)

The third section posits Magic as a connection. A perspective that, in some ways, attempts to synthesize the previous two by defining Magic through the inherently complex and idiosyncratic nature of the human experience, and its participatory relation with the universe.

Through this lens, the force of Magic lays in relational connections and the understanding that the human, body and consciousness, is itself part of greater systems. We can therefore be influenced by, and effect influence on, these systems. Magic is accessed and enacted through engaging with the world around us. Magic is not a way to seek and assign meaning, but instead becomes a way to actively create meaning through connection and participation. Impression and expression. Intention and purpose. (Gosden, 2020) (Bellisario, 2025)

It is within this definition of Magic that I will "anchor" my personal approach to Art and Magic, thesis and project. I believe this perspective can equally lend itself to Art, as a way to process, interact and create meaning for the complexities of life within the greater systems that make up our world(s).

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✧ Chapter #2 ✧

Key components

• References of art, projects and practitioners
• Art-based Magic vs. magic-based Art
• How intention and purpose inform form and medium

The second chapter looks at a selection of contemporary artists, practitioners and projects that engage with Magic through art. Through these examples, chapter two discusses and compares art-based Magic and magic-based Art. The former is a term I use to denote artistic and creative expressions that exist with the expressed purpose of engaging with Magic. The latter denotes art that contains or reflects ideas of Magic or magical symbolism, but is created without the direct purpose of using the artistic medium as a tool to do Magic.

The selected references should contribute to understanding how different concepts within Magic may be practiced or expressed through different artistic mediums, materials and forms. They should also span a variety of categories, including craft-based (artifacts, tools, visuals), language-based (spells, poetry, texts) and performance-based (rituals, actions) Magic and Art.

Some possible examples include: The paper altars and visual spells of Josephine Close. The works of Elizabeth Insogna, who combines occult rituals with visual and research. Some textual examples from the book Spells: 21st Century Occult Poetry, for creating spells through poetry to "unmake the world around them, so that it might be remade anew" (Shin and Tamás (ed.), 2025). As well as, the zine-publication First Protocols for queer Goetia by an anonymous author, and selected works on "DIY-witchery" and secular witchcraft by Alex Wrekk.

The main aim of this chapter is to situate my research question within existing artistic practices, and beyond. At the same time, I compile and reflect on these works as a reference for the project prototypes/Protocols for Magic by providing valuable insight into the relation of Art as the medium for expressing magical thought.

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✧ Chapter #3 ✧

Key components

• Public inquiry
• Prototypes and reflections
• Applied and Practice-based insights

The third chapter reflects on the main take-aways of the previous two chapters and summarizes how it informed my project up to this point.

Following this, chapter three takes on a more back-and-forth approach to project and thesis as the partial documentation and critical reflection of my prototyping process.

By means of the prototypes, I strive to answer in what ways Art and Magic may support the formation of personal Magic practices through testing and experimenting with a variety of magic protocols, together with an audience. Additionally, I ask: How do people engage and merge Art and Magic through the protocols? How can the protocols act as a learning tool when introducing concepts within Magic? And how can these frameworks for creative exploration potentially alter their perception and position to Magic?

The full documentation of my material research takes place through the Protocols for Magic wiki-page, including the compiling of material references, additional writing and protocols. In addition, I use it to keep a log of the testing sessions and workshops, including audience experiences and feedback collected through feedback forms.

This chapter is a place for summaries and reflections on how the thesis and project have reciprocally informed my process, to highlight the key insights and findings of my material research.

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✧ Conclusion ✧

A conclusion that will hopefully present some answers and interesting results to my research question(s).

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Bibliography & References

Magic History - Forms of Magic

DK (2020). A History of Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult. Dorling Kindersley Ltd. London, United Kingdom.

Gosden, C (2020). Magic: A History: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the Present. Penguin. London, United Kingdom.

Williams, L. (2025). Compendium Of The Occult - Arcane Artefacts, Magic Rituals and Sacred Symbolism. Thames & Hudson. London, United Kingdom.

Magic in theory and function

Bever, E., Styers, R. (2017). Magic in the Modern World: Strategies of Repression and Legitimization. Penn State University Press, Magic in History series. Pennsylvania, United States.

Sorensen, J. (2006). A Cognitive Theory of Magic. Alta Mira Press, Bloomsbury Publishing. London, United Kingdom.

Stevens, P. Jr. (2023). Rethinking the Anthropology of Magic and Witchcraft: Inherently Human. Routledge. Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.

The Intersection of Magic & Art

Charlesworth, J.J. (2022). The Return of Magic in Art. ArtReview. Available at: https://artreview.com/the-return-of-magic-in-art/ (Accessed: 19 Nov. 2025).

Cornish, H. (2022). Sensing materiality in the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic. Goldsmiths, University of London, Pomegranate Vol.23. Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Davies, A. (2023). Art is Magic. University of New South Wales. Sydney, Australia.

Gilhooly, J. (2010). Enchanted Objects: Agency in the Magic and Contemporary Art Practice. University for the Creative Arts, University of Kent. Canterbury, United Kingdom.

Moore, P. E. (2019). Art and Magick in the 21st Century; Reflections of a Neophyte. TULCA Festival Of Visual Arts, TULCA, Galway, IE. Available at: http://www.padraicmoore.com/art-and-magick-in-the-21st-century-reflections-of-a-neophyte/ (Accessed: 15 Nov. 2025).

Sutcliffe, J ( 2021). Magic. MIT Press, Whitechapel Gallery. London, United Kingdom.

Art & Artists

Bellisario, S. (2025). Contemporary Visions: Refiguring The Esoteric; The Transformational Act of “Making” Magic. Journal of Design History, Volume 37, Issue 4. Oxford University Press. Oxford, United Kingdom.

Close, J. (n.d.). Spells. Available at: https://www.josephineclose.com/spells (Accessed: 21 Nov. 2025)

First Protocols for queer Goetia. (2018). Contagion Press, Contagionpress.com. Available at: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anonymous-first-protocols-of-queer-goetia (Accessed: 21 Nov. 2025).

Haute, L. O. (2023). <talismans pour celles qui ne savent pas de quoi ils parlent. Maison de la Poésie de Rennes. Paris, France.

Insognia, E. (n.d.) Available at: https://elizabethinsogna.com/home.html (Accessed: 21 Nov. 2025)

Shin, S. (ed.) and Tamás, R. (ed.), (2025). Spells: 21st-Century Occult Poetry. Silver Press, Spiral House (series). London, United Kingdom.

Wrekk, A. (n.d.) Secular Witchcraft and DIY Witchery. Available at: https://diywitchery.com/ (Accessed: 21 Nov. 2025).

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