It’s art which many believe doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Some associate it with the 1960’s and 70’s. 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. I think psychedelic art is underrated, and hasn't been represented fully in the art historical record. So, I'm trying to address that in this show," said California Lutheran University professor and art historian Michael Pearce.
He's curating the show, which opens at Studio Channel Islands in Camarillo 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 says 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 1950's. She died recently. Her paintings are glorious, and she credited Janiger with her saving her life," said Pearce.
So, how do we 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, or 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," said Pearce.
Joe Adams is one of the artists with works in the show. Adams said he’s worked in psychedelic art since the 1980’s. He shows us a painting which features a dynamic blend of shapes and styles.
"This is water color 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 1960’s and 70’s, 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 notes that the art form has become mainstream over the decades.
"Psychedelic art has permeated the culture," said Pearce. "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. 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," said Tyas. "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 at 4 p.m. Saturday. It runs through December 13 at Studio Channel Islands, in Camarillo. There are a number of special events and lectures tied to the exhibition.
