art
Mind-bending fluorescent coral reef photography
Daniel Stoupin takes underwater photography to a new level, revealing a dazzling spectrum of colors in fluorescent coral reefs. I’ve seen alien worlds like these behind closed eyes before, but never in such stunning high-resolution photos. As it turns out, some of the most psychedelic landscapes on earth are underwater and microscopic! Daniel’s blog also does a fabulous job of explaining the nature of fluorescence, the way our brains perceive color, and the importance of lighting and context in both photography and everyday vision. To achieve such astounding colors, he uses special lights that bring out the natural...
Time lapse of Burning Man 2013 from a mountaintop
There are lots of Burning Man videos on Youtube these days, but this one caught my eye. According to the creator: This video captures Burning Man 2013 from an elevation of 5495 feet above sea level and over 4 linear miles from the center of Black Rock City. Old Razorback, aka Trego Peak, provides a unique vista of this incredible annual event. Climbing to the peak of Old Razorback has become a challenging and rewarding tradition for our team. This is a view that most will never experience in person. It is our passion to share it with...
Golem, a cerebral short film about human culture
Golem is a short film by Patrick Mccue & Tobias Wiesner. It’s hard to describe, but the filmmakers say it’s based on ideas of “freedom and curiosity, fear and security, abstraction and fiction, the lack of accessibility in face of unknowing and the need for generating meaning.” Watching it, I couldn’t help but think of how very psychedelic these topics are — not because they’re “far out, man,” but because they are important. These are exactly the kinds of big-picture revelations that cross my mind while in a state of heightened awareness. Thoughts like these–whether inspired by an...
Mirror City, a trippy kaleidoscopic time-lapse of cityscapes
Mirror City is a short time-lapse film showing five American cities like you’ve never seen them before. Filmmaker Michael Shainblum took footage of urban landscapes and reflected it at different angles to create the mind-bending kaleidoscopic journey below. Some shots are mirrored only 2 or 4 times, but others show 8 or even 16 reflections of a cityscape at once. Filmmaker Michael Shainblum describes the video on the Vimeo page: When I first started Mirror City, I wanted to create a video that was completely out of the norm. I wanted to showcase something unique and artistic, which takes...
Visionary collages by Eugenia Loli
Eugenia Loli’s collages remind me very much of psychedelic exploration. The canny juxtapositions, spacey visuals, and surreal portraits of humanity all speak directly to my subconscious, which loves to throw around this kind of imagery when I’m dreaming or in a mystical state. These psychedelic qualities are no accident. In the artist’s words: I’m intrigued by DMT’s ability to make people more spiritual, and bring them closer to their true nature and potential. Some of my art tries to capture just that, rather than simply describe a trip. I’m not into making representational art, so I capture the...
The Chain of Destruction and the persecution of drug users
It’s almost Independence Day in America, and millions of people will celebrate this weekend with backyard cookouts, fireworks, and time with family and friends. But please take a minute to consider the people in America and abroad whose freedoms have been revoked because they committed the non-violent crime of drug possession. The War on Drugs is a war on people, most especially poor people and minorities. It the modern version of a witch hunt. Eugene Jackecki’s documentary The House I Live In discusses the American War on Drugs with refreshing candor. This seven-minute segment covers the “chain of destruction” which occurs...
Tierra Vida: An Ayahuasca Journey
There have been a flurry of ayahuasca documentaries lately, but I think this one takes the cake. In 2012, Alex Ward lived out of a backpack for 8 months, participated in over forty shamanic ceremonies, and went exploring “far beyond the veil of reality with Ayahuasca.” A freelance artist and filmmaker, Alex was originally looking for artistic inspiration to spur his creative pursuits. But as he puts it, “I got a little more than I bargained for.” Lucky for us, he made a short (26 min) video testimonial about the experience and what he learned from it. Check it...
Three psychedelic Kickstarter campaigns fully funded
Another sign of the times: three different Kickstarter campaigns relating to psychedelics have recently been funded! Alex Grey’s Entheon art temple, web magazine Reality Sandwich 2.0, and the film Neurons to Nirvana have all exceeded their fundraising goals in the last couple weeks. The first is Entheon, the brainchild of visionary artist Alex Grey. The Entheon campaign made over USD $200,000, far exceeding the original goal of USD $125,000 and making it the second most funded art project in Kickstarter history. So what is Entheon? According to the Kickstarter page: For over 30 years, the art of Alex...
DMT-esque animation: “1923 aka Heaven”
This short animation reminds me of a DMT voyage through some kind of cosmic power generator. From the Vimeo page: 1923 aka Heaven is one of two animation loops directed by Max Hattler, inspired by the work of French outsider artist Augustin Lesage. 1923 is based on Lesage’s painting ‘A Symbolic Composition of the Spiritual World’ from 1923. I recommend fullscreen mode. And turn up the volume, the soundtrack is great. The second animation mentioned is called ‘1925 aka Hell‘. The visuals aren’t as DMT-looking, but it’s still very trippy. If the video wasn’t enough to remind you of...
Interview with Oliver Hockenhull, Director of “Neurons to Nirvana”
I am very excited to share with you my conversation with Oliver Hockenhull, director of the new documentary film Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicines. About the film Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicines is a richly-illustrated feature documentary about the resurgence of psychedelics as medicine. Through interviews with the world’s foremost researchers, writers, psychologists and pioneers in psychedelic psychotherapy, the film explores five powerful psychedelic substances (LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA, Ayahuasca and Cannabis) and their previously established medicinal and psychotherapeutic potential. The film is finished but needs funding for marketing and distribution. If you are interested in learning more about the project and bringing this...
Excellent short video: ‘The Psychedelic Experience’
From Aubrey Marcus, aka Warrior Poet, comes a terrific short video about the value of psychedelic experiences (whether mediated by chemicals or not). Similar style as Jason Silva, but less manic. My favorite part of the video: What can the Psychedelic Experience be? The cloth that wipes clean our lens of perception, The compass that points true north to our life’s calling, The lantern in the catacombs of our subconscious, The sword stroke that unfetters the muse, The sunlight that dispels the shadows of our past Or simply a respite of eternity, in the fast flowing river of...
Trippy Must-see Short Film: Hyperspace
This is one amazing 7-minute head trip, loosely based on Terence McKenna quotes. Hyperspace was written, produced and directed by Isak Gundrosen & Ida Skjefstad. Liked this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed to get much more! Or enter your email address for weekly updates: Share this: