It’s art that many believe doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Some associate it with the 1960s and '70s.
A new exhibition opening in Ventura County this weekend looks at psychedelic art.
"It's all about psychedelic art. There's about 70 years of psychedelic art here," explained California Lutheran University professor and art historian Michael Pearce. "I think (it's) underrated, and hasn't been represented fully in the art historical record. I'm trying to address that in this show."
He's curating the show, which opens at Studio Channel Islands in Camarillo on Saturday.
"The exhibition is called Calidelic Psychefornia," he laughed. "It's an idea I got from USC. They used to do bumper stickers that had 'Unifornia of Southern Caliuniversity.' I always thought it was very funny, and so I was trying to think of a name for this show."
Pearce added that the exhibition features more than 60 works.
"In this show, I've got paintings by people who were involved in the very early days of LSD, like Dolores Chiappone, who was a wonderful, wonderful painter but was in Oscar Jainger's (LSD) experiments in the 1950s. She died recently. Her paintings are glorious, and she credited Janiger with saving her life," said Pearce.
How does one define psychedelic art?
"That's a good question, I don't know," joked the show's curator. "It's huge. Can it be defined? I think you have to say that it's related to hallucinogenic experiences of one sort or another. Whether that's LSD, DMT, or marijuana, I don't think you can define it just like that. You could make a case for Christian religious art being psychedelic, because people are having full-on mystical experiences."
Joe Adams is one of the artists whose works are featured in the show. He said he’s worked in the psychedelic art space since the 1980s. He showed us a painting featuring a dynamic blend of shapes and styles.
"This is watercolor and graphite drawn," said Adams. "I'm using some ideas based on nature, and on water: Tidal zones, reflections on the surface, depth and distortion underwater. It's concepts that come from that trip into the other atmosphere."
The term psychedelic means 'mind-revealing.' While many link it to the 1960s and '70s, it’s still being created today.
"There's an awful lot of painting in this show which is contemporary," said Pearce. "There's paintings here that were painted last week."
Pearce noted that the art form has become mainstream over the decades.
"Psychedelic art has permeated the culture," he explained. "A lot of the stuff we see around us every day is deeply influenced by the psychedelic aesthetic."
The art community in general hasn’t been as accepting of the art form. But Studio Channel Islands Executive Director Peter Tyas said they’re excited to present the nontraditional exhibition.
"We love working with guest curators because they have a whole different artistic vision. They bring in a new network of artists, which we would never be able to do with our own connections."
The exhibition Calidelic Psychefornia opens with a public reception on Saturday at 4 p.m. It runs through December 13 at Studio Channel Islands in Camarillo. Several special events and lectures accompany the exhibition.
