This volume takes its cue from the ethnological concept of animism, a term for religions that view objects as having souls of their own. Animism emerged as an anthropological category in the nineteenth century, often occurring as a folk belief underlying more established religions, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia. The term has proved also influential in psychoanalysis, where it denotes mental states in which no division is made between inner and outer realities. This volume brings together artworks, documents and artifacts to create an essayistic appraisal of works by such artists and filmmakers as Didier Demorcy, Walt Disney, Jimmie Durham, Eric Duvivier, Henri Michaux, Thomas Alva Edison, Candida Hofer, Luis Jacob, Ken Jacobs, Yayoi Kusama, Len Lye, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, Daria Martin, Ana Mendieta, Hans Richter and others.