Occulture: a Material Cartography of Contemporary Spirituality and the Arts

Occulture describes the growing presence of esotericism, occultism, magic, and spirituality in media, popular culture, and contemporary arts as part of the spiritual revolution in Western contemporary societies. The empirical study of occulture has been carried out through two main theoretical frameworks. In sociology and media studies, scholars have described the mediatization and commodification of esotericism, while in religious studies, scholars have examined artists as spiritual seekers. This article argues that these perspectives are pieces of a larger mosaic. It proposes applying a material cartography of occulture, capable of showing the relationships among different actors (artists, artworks, and audiences) – which can embody both secular and religious values. This article proposes a navigational cartography based on five key tensions: 1) secular art vs. sacred art; 2) lowbrow art vs. highbrow art; 3) metaphysical ontology vs. performative ontology; 4) author’s intention vs. audience’s reception; and 5) spiritual seekers vs. religious dwellers.