The Door of Perception
There is already a post about Philip Kirkland on DOP but these images I’ve just found deserve to stand alone.
The scans are from a book titled ‘Energy Ecstasy and Your Seven Vital Chakras’, published in 1983 by Bernard Gunther.
See the previous post about Kirkland’s art here:
The Psychedelic Textbook Solution
Image source:
Altered Statuses, a large archive of the visual culture of global New Ages, esotericism and fringe religions.
I would describe the work of Ernesto Neto as ‘body art’. It’s a supreme example of art that communicates by bodily sensations.
Rimantas Dichavičius is a photographer and illustrator from Lithuania. In this book he confronts the female nude with pictures of nature.
Renzo Martens’ Enjoy Poverty is one of the most provocative films that have been circulating the art world since its release in 2009.
Alex Grey is best known for his paintings of see-through humans interwoven in the realm of energy. Until I experienced…
Ernst Fuchs was one of the most influential masters of the visionary arts movement.
This text is immensely powerful to illuminate death or any transition into the unknown. Remember that you already went through a fantastic metamorphosis before.
The ancient and the yet unseen echoes through these arabesque hyper realms, with an almost hallucinatory effect.
Gabor Maté is a Canadian physician who specializes in the study and treatment of addiction. He radiates kindness and a deep understanding of the human condition.
I will step into the fire. The fire of self-discovery. This fire will not burn me, it will only burn what I am not.
This little chapter from The Center of the Cyclone by John C. Lilly turned out to be a piece of wisdom that stood the test of time.
The series investigates the effects of high voltage and household cleaning products on instant pull apart color film.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter circles the red planet since 2006. The little spacecraft sends high-res pictures of Mars’ surface ever since.
Malcolm Kirk traveled to Papua New Guinea in 1967. He returned repeatedly during the ensuing 13 years, documenting the extraordinary tribal decorations he had observed on that initial trip.
When it comes to Moebius aka Jean Giraud (* 1938 — † 2012) it’s hard to make a choice what to present. His body of work is huge and versatile. My selection focuses on his early black & white work.
Thorgerson’s metaphorical language to me feels like as if Magritte would have been into photography instead of painting.
Bălaşa paints a unique universe, full of archetypal figures and metaphysical themes. He called it Cosmic Romanticism.
Surrealism based on studies of psychology, religion, the Bible, astrology, antiquity, magic, witchcraft, mythology and occultism.
The book Kunstformen der Natur (German for Art Forms of Nature) by the biologist Ernst Haeckel is a masterpiece of art and science.
Each picture reveals minute features and textures that are normally invisible to the naked eye.
At the time when I picked the name The Door Of Perception I didn’t know much about Aldous Huxley and his teachings — because that’s what his writings are, rather than novels.
