Amelia Ishmael
Amelia Ishmael is an artist, curator, music journalist, scholar, and lecturer specializing in black metal, contemporary art, and art criticism. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and New Media from the Kansas City Art Institute and a Master of Arts in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has contributed to publications, including One+One Filmmakers Journal, Art in Print, Newcity, ArtSlant, Art Papers, Review, Art21, Cacophany, Becoming the Forest, and FNews Magazine.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] She is the co-editor of and a curator for the interdisciplinary journal Helvete: A Journal of Black Metal Theory, which specializes in black metal theory, and is the editor for the radio publication Radius.[1][9] Her curated exhibitions include "Black Thorns in the Black Box" (with Bryan Wendorf) and "Black Thorns in the White Cube".[10][11]
Amelia Ishmael | |
---|---|
Occupation | Academic, art critic, artist, curator, editor, music journalist, radio producer, writer |
Known for | Visual art, music |
Academic background | |
Education | Kansas City Art Institute (BFA) Art Institute of Chicago (MA) |
Influences | Robert Walser, Jérôme Lefèvre, Kevin Muhlen, Shamim Momin |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Music journalism, art criticism, sociology, musicology |
Sub-discipline | Art history, contemporary art, black metal, feminism, history of photography, music theory, new musicology |
Notable works | Helvete: A Journal of Black Metal Theory "Black Thorns in the White Cube" |
Notable ideas | Black metal theory |
Website | www |
Ishmael first encountered metal music at the age of 14, when she was living in Florida.[12] A friend from her art class introduced her to the band Six Feet Under, and shortly afterward another friend gave her a compilation of songs by Arcturus, Emperor, Cradle of Filth, Samael, and Pink Floyd.[1] This piqued her interest in black metal, and when she relocated to Kansas City in the late 1990s she attended shows by the local black metal band Descension.[12] During her undergraduate studies she created sound and multimedia art installations, basing many of them off of themes from the Odyssey.[10] For her Master's thesis she wrote on black metal in contemporary art, work in which her installation "Black Thorns in the White Cube" was grounded.[10][12] The piece explored how contemporary artists draw upon the languages, iconography, and narratives of black metal – what Ishmael calls the "mythology" of black metal.[10][11] Reviewers, along with Ishmael herself, noted that some prior exposure to the black metal music scene was helpful for understanding the exhibition.[11][12]
Selected publications
- Ishmael, Amelia; Tallman, Susan (September–October 2012). "Stanley William Hayter—Essential Reading". Art in Print. 2 (3): 26–27. ISSN 2164-2702. JSTOR 43045415.
- Ishmael, Amelia (January–February 2013). "Tony Fitzpatrick: More American Etchings". Art in Print. 2 (5): 20–21. ISSN 2164-2702.
- Ishmael, Amelia (March–April 2013). "Review: NEW EDITIONS: Onsmith & Nudd". Art in Print. 2 (6): 26. ISSN 2164-2702. JSTOR 43045505.
- Ishmael, Amelia (September–October 2013). "Alain Biltereyst: Untitled". Art in Print. 3 (3): 43. ISSN 2164-2702.
- Ishmael, Amelia (December 2013). "On the 20th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival" (PDF). One+One Filmmakers Journal. 2 (12): 12–23.
- Ishmael, Amelia (2014). Introduction. Transcendental Geology. By Bouschet, Gast; Hilbert, Nadine.
- Ishmael, Amelia (March 31, 2014). "An interview with Aldo Tambellini: going back again, forward… suspended in space, circular forms, broadcasting signals into spirals". Wavelengths. James Cohan Gallery.
- Ishmael, Amelia (July 1, 2014). "To Raise a Storm: Gast Bouschet and Nadine Hilbert's Tempestarii and the sympathetic magic of digital video" (PDF). One+One Filmmakers Journal. 1 (13): 32–41.
- Ishmael, Amelia (2014). Wilson, Scott (ed.). "Black Metal in the White Tower: Metal's Formless Presence in Contemporary Art" (PDF). Melancology: Black Metal Theory and Ecology. United Kingdom: Zero Books: 119–151. ISBN 978-1780991894.
- af Gennäs, Staffan Boije; Ishmael, Amelia (2014). "Mediating Darkness". J'ai Froid. Castillo/Corrales (4).
- Amelia Ishmael (2015). Introduction. The White People. By Ineke, Ibrahim R. Haarlem: Sherpa Haarlem. ISBN 978-90-8988-085-7.
- Ishmael, Amelia; Soliday, J., eds. (2016). EN3MY: 1550 N Milwaukee Ave., Third Fl., 2012-2005. Holon.
- Ishmael, Amelia (2017). Helle, Una Hamilton; Brown, Lotte (eds.). Here the repellent harpies make their nests. Het Bos Antwerpen. ISBN 9789090303468.
- Ishmael, Amelia; Ineke, Ibrahim (2017). II.
Exhibitions
- "Black Thorns in the Black Box" (with Bryan Wendorf) - 2011[1]
- "Black Thorns in the White Cube" - 2012[1]
- "Prelude: The Breath of Charybdis" – 2013[9]
- .blacK~SSStaTic_darK~fuZZZ_dOOm~glitCH. – 2013[1]
- "The Night is No Longer Dead; it has a life of its own" – 2013[1]
- "Prelude: The Breath of Charybdis"[13]
- DIVINITUSSSANIMALUSSSACRÉUSSSORGANUSSS (with support by Michelle Puetz and Peter Margasak) – 2014[14]
- "Eccentricities and Disorientations: Experiencing Geometricies in Black Metal" (with Elodie Lesourd) – 2015
- "Bleeding Black Noise" – 2016[15][16]
- "I Am the Sun" – 2016[17]
- "Only The Truth Disguised in a Dream" – 2019[18]
References
- Walschots, Natalie Zina (January 31, 2013). "Girls Don't Like Metal Interviews Amelia Ishmael". Canada Arts Connect. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- Isé, Claudine (November 21, 2011). "New Guest Blogger: Amelia Ishmael". ART21 Magazine. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
- Ishmael, Amelia (July 10, 2012). "Review: Ivan Lozano/Johalla Projects". Newcity. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
- "Amelia Ishmael". FNews Magazine. School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- Doran, John (October 12, 2017). "Becoming The Forest Zine Launches With Gig". The Quietus. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- "Amelia Ishmael". Art in Print. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- "Amelia Ishmael". ArtSlant. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- Degroot, Jillian (May 16, 2016). "Interview: Rhys Chatham". Cacophony. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Radius is pleased to announce that Amelia Ishmael". Radius. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- Reaves, Kelly (March 27, 2012). "Portrait of a Curator: Amelia Ishmael". Newcity. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- Judd, Jason (Spring–Summer 2012). "Black Metal". BITE Magazine (4): 8–9, 16–17.
- Bembnister, Theresa (February 7, 2012). "Holdin' on to black metal at the Paragraph Gallery". The Pitch. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Prelude: The Breath of Charybdis". ameliaishmael.com. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Charlemagne Palestine – 'BUULLODDYYY SCROOOZZMICSSS!!!'". Michelle Puetz. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Bleeding Black Noise screening". Chicago Reader. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Bleeding Black Noise: Group exhibition curated by Amelia Ishmael in the Sector Project Space". Sector 2337. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "I AM THE SUN". ameliaishmael.com. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "26th Chicago Underground Film Festival". cuff2019.eventive.org. Retrieved July 11, 2019.