Oh lordy, get your checkbooks ready! Psychedelic artist Alex Grey and the Multi-Disciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (M.A.P.S.) have teamed up to auction off the last remaining print of St. Albert and the LSD Revelation Revolution, created to honor Dr. Albert Hoffman, the father of LSD. This print is number 1 of 50 and was personally signed by Hoffman shortly after his 100th birthday celebration earlier this year in Basel, Switzerland.
Opening bid is $3000 and all proceeds will be divided evenly between a M.A.P.S.-sponsored Swiss end-of-life research study (the first legal research with LSD in 35 years) and Grey's trippy Chapel of Sacred Mirrors project.
Alex Grey is probably the most gifted visionary artist alive. My favorite painting of his is 1984's Theologue (below, click the image for a bigger, better version at Grey's Web site). I think Theologue is as good a depiction of a transcendent experience as I've ever seen anywhere. I urge you to wander Grey's site if you haven't seen his work. It's truly mind-blowing and very, very beautiful.
7 comments:
You use "trippy" in several posts. I'm never sure what you mean. Please define. It sounds like mumbo jumbo to me.
Of the two Grey works you have posted, this is my favorte. I looked at the blown up image on my display, and I got lost in the intricate detail. The mesh at bottom, despite being symmetrically rendered, is actually assymetrical with the flames and not balanced. It gives you the illusions of balance, yet it is much heavier on one side. On the contrary, the balanced chakras produce a white bubble around the figure. The figure seems to have achieved balance within a world of imbalance. Interesting optical illusion for the eyes to brain to resolve.
"Trippy" in this context relates to art or culture which seems to describe elevated states of awareness and consciousness, those outside the normal bounds of ego consciousness. "Trippy" has its origins in the use of "trip" to describe a psychedelic experience.
At its best, trippy art not only depicts, but also creates unusual states of consciousness. Grey's art creates an altered state in me and many other viewers; it's trippy.
That's a great observation, Sushrew, about the asymmetry of the flames. The image moves from dark to light when read across, a very subtle and trippy communication.
Peacelove,
I just finished re-reading Alex's book, The Mission of Art. It has raised some issues for me about magic's potential as an art form.
One of these days, I hope to go to the COSM.
All the best ~ Fredrick
I haven't read the book but I did check out your new blog, which looks very cool. I think we share many ideas on what makes magic magical. I added your blog to my Bloglines and look forward to seeing what you have to say in the future!
I recently watched Alex Grey's ArtMind DVD. During his guided tour, he states that Theologue is his best selling print. He believes that it speaks to people on an inner level.
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