Closed Today. Reopens Friday at 1:00 PM. Become a Member Your Cart VISIT EVENTS + PROGRAMS EXHIBITIONS COLLECTIONS CINEMA LEARN SUPPORT SUPERNATURAL AMERICA: THE PARANORMAL IN AMERICAN ART Agatha Wojciechowsky. American (born Germany), 1896-1986. aw 0323, 1963. Watercolor on paper. Courtesy of the Collection of Steven Day, New York, NY Previous Next View Gallery Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art October 8, 2021 – January 2, 2022 North Building, 3rd Floor Special Exhibition RESERVE YOUR TICKETS Supernatural America examines the artwork that has shaped our collective imagination of the supernatural and paranormal and asks why America is haunted. Ghosts of a violent US history, whether Native American genocide, slavery, or the Civil War, remain unsettled and periodically resurface to make the present face the past. In intimate moments of mourning, the will to make contact with spirits of the dead drove cultures of mediumship, new ritual practices, and a popular culture around Spiritualism. Artists have been integral to visualizing these ghosts, whether national or personal, and in doing so have embraced the mysterious and unexplained. In the twentieth century, anxieties about technology, atomic weapons, and the trauma of war inspired ideas about worlds beyond a troubled America. This exhibition explores the numerous ways artists in the U.S. made sense of their own experiences of the paranormal and supernatural, and in doing so developed a rich visual culture of the intangible. A broad range of artists have engaged this subject matter, which often grew out of their personal experience, religious practices, and scientific pursuits. Spanning a chronology of the early 19th century through the present, Supernatural America will include over 220 objects from artists as diverse as America itself, featuring paintings, drawings, sketchbooks, prints, photographs, furniture, clothing and textiles, video, scientific instruments, and mediumistic/occult paraphernalia. From Native American spiritual traditions to the Salem Witch Trials to Afrofuturism, the exhibition tracks this country’s complex and complicated relationship to the otherworldly. Most importantly, the exhibition will include well-known artists and objects alongside artists who will be new to art historical analysis, never before included in museum exhibitions of American art. EXHIBITION PROGRAMS Docent-led highlights tours on Fridays at 2 pm and 6 pm After Hours at the Speed on October 15, 2021 Featuring “Witches and Goblins and Ghosts – Oh My! The Supernatural in American Art” with Dr. Graham C. Boettcher, The R. Hugh Daniel Director of the Birmingham Museum Art Global Speed Lecture Series: Otherworldly October 26: Tony Oursler February 22: John Jota Leanos After Hours at the Speed on November 19, 2021 Public Lecture with Curator Robert Cozzolino: “Unseen Beings: Spirit Artists and their Collaborators” at 6 pm on December 2, 2021 Exhibition tour led by Curator Robert Cozzolino at 7 pm on December 3, 2021 Sunday Showcase free programming October 24: Speed Cinema screening of Sleepy Hollow October 31: Día de los Muertos artmaking and celebration October 31: Speed Cinema screening of Carnival of Souls This exhibition is organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art and has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Support for this exhibition provided by: The Ford Foundation Alan and Shelly Ann Kamei David A. Jones, Jr. and Mary Gwen Wheeler Northern Trust Robert Lehman Foundation Lopa and Rishabh Mehrotra Media sponsorship from: Support for contemporary exhibitions comes from: Augusta and Gill Holland Exhibition season sponsored by: Cary Brown and Steven E. Epstein Paul and Deborah Chellgren Debra and Ronald Murphy 2035 South Third Street Louisville, Kentucky 40208 (502) 634-2700 Speed Newsletter Sign up today and be among the first to know about special events, exhibitions and programs. Click here to join our mailing list. About Contact Us Privacy Policy