A Visit to the Yayoi Kusama Exhibition at the Tate Modern

Kusama Exhibition

This follows on from an earlier post; for a long time I’ve wanted to see a Kusama’s art and primarily her installation work. I went to the Tate Modern yesterday and it was an amazing experience, probably the most mind-blowing exhibition that I’ve been to. No pictures can do justice to her installation art. I was moved on so many levels, at times looking at her art it brought me back to seeing the world through the eyes of a child. The installation titled ‘ I’m Here, but Nothing‘ was as if you were entering the mind of another person, a hallucinogenic sensory experience of another realm.

 

 

Jean Giraud: Mobeius – A Tribute

A personal reflection on Jean Giraud (pen name Mobeius) the French artist who died yesterday. Back in the 1970’s when I was living in the Netherlands, I came across the fantastic work of Mobeius in a magazine called Metal Hurlant (Screaming Metal). Although the magazine was in French, and although my French language skills were not too brilliant, it didn’t deter me for buying the magazines as I loved the beautiful illustrations. In fact my favourite Mobeius character was ‘Arzach’, and there were no words, like a silent movie the pictures themselves narrated the story, words were not needed. Below is an example of an Arzach story.

Obituary

PARIS — French comics artist Jean Giraud, known by fans from Hollywood to Japan as Moebius and the creator of unsettling, eye-opening fantasy worlds in print and on film, has died at 73.Publishing house Dargaud announced the death in a statement and hailed “one of the greatest artists of world comic art.” France’s Europe-1 radio said he died Saturday after a long illness, according to his family.

Mr. Giraud worked on several Hollywood films including “Alien,” “Tron” and “The Fifth Element” and was a co-founder of U.S. comics magazine Heavy Metal in 1975.Born in 1938, he first found success with the “Blueberry” western series in France in the 1960s before moving into science fiction. He worked under his real name as well as the pseudonym Gir but was best known as Moebius.

The hallucinogenic Western movie Blueberry (Renegade in the USA) was filmed by Jan Kounen starring Michael Madsen famous (for me) for it’s impressive and elaborate ‘ayahuasca’ scene complete with Shipibo icaros. A brief note: Jan Kounen contributed a foreword for the book I co-authored ‘The Ayahuasca Visions of Pablo Amaringo‘. Accordingly the art of Jean Giraud was influenced by his involvement in shamanism and  hallucinogenic plants, as this review from the Fondation Cartier describes;.

A Golden Guide to Hallucinogenic Plants

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A Golden Guide to Hallucinogenic Plants by Richard Evans Schultes & Elmer W. Smith

Published in 1976,  this book has been out of print for many years. It is  beautifully illustrated with detailed botanical paintings and extremely  informative narratives. There is a conspiracy theory that it was removed from publication (albeit after four editions!)  due to pressure by the authorities. In the Golden Guide Collectors page it says ” I will finish my tutorial by talking about the myths on Hallucinogenic Plants. Almost every time I see this book for sale it’s mentioned that it was pulled, suppressed, recalled or words to that effect. I’m sure this book was frowned upon when it showed up in libraries. And Golden Press probably was pressured to quit publishing this title. But it took a while. The softcover went through 4 printings. And the large hardcover went through 2 printings. The ultimate reason Golden Press quit publishing this book may never be known”.

Schultes Foreword

Hallucinogenic plants have been used by man for thousands of years, probably since he began gathering plants for food . The hallucinogens have continued to receive the attention of civilized man through the ages. Recently, we have gone through a period during which sophisticated Western society has “discovered ” hallucinogens, and some sectors of that society have ta ken up,for one reason or another, the use of such plants. This trend may be destined to continue.

It is,therefore,important for us to learn as much as we can about ha llucinogenic plants. A great body of scientific literature has been published a bout their uses and their effects, but the information is often locked away in technical journals. The interested layman has a right to sound information on which to base his opm1ons. This book has been written partly to provide that kind of information.

No matter whether we believe that man’s intake of hallucinogens in primitive or sophisticated societies constitutes use, misuse, or abuse, hallucinogenic plants have undeniably played an exten sive role in human culture and probably shall continue to do so. It follows that a clear understanding of these physically and socially potent agents should be a part of man’s general education.

R . E . S

 

RICHARD EVANS SCHULTES, Ph.D., F.L.S., is professor of natural sciences and director of the Botanical Museum at Harvard University. An internationally known botanist specializing in narcotic, medicinal and poisonous plants, Dr. Schultes spent some 14 years in South America living among Indian tribes in order to investigate directly their uses of such plants. Dr. Schultes is the recipient of numerous honors, among them a decoration from the government of Colombia for his work in the Amazon, and is a member of several American and foreign academies of science, including the National Academy of Sciences. He is editor of the journal Economic Botany and the author of many scientific papers; with Albert Hofmann he wrote The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens.

ELMER W. SMITH, a new England Yankee by birth and inclination, is a free-lance artist, self-taught in art, with an M.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts. He illustrated the Golden Guide ORCHIDS, and has traveled and collected in the Amazon with his friend and colleague the author of HALLUCINOGENIC PLANTS. Smith’s work appears in children’s books as well as in scientific journals, and he has illustrated numerous textbooks in the field of biology. Currently he is an artist at the Botanical Museum of Harvard University.

The Back Cover Blurb

What are hallucinogenic plants? How do they affect mind and body? Who uses them — and why? This unique Golden Guide surveys the role of psychoactive plants in primitive and civilized societies from early times to the present. The first nontechnical guide to both the cultural significance and physiological effects of hallucinogens, hallucinogenic plants will fascinate general readers and students of anthropology and history as well as botanists and other specialists. All of the wild and cultivated species considered are illustrated in brilliant full color.

Shamanic chants and Icaros of Peruvian Shamans

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Ayahuasca, Shamanism and Art – a video gallery of some of my paintings

Over the years, Painting has been important to me. It’s a sort of a meditation, in which I find (as a figure of speech), brings a unity to my mind, a balance of the hemispheres so to speak. I’ve put in the video some of my paintings both on canvas and three dimensional objects. My painting has been inspired by my work with visionary plants and experiences with shamanism. I’m delighted that my artwork has also featured on book covers.