Today we’d like to feature a unique artist. His name is Alex Grey and once you see his paintings, you will never forget them.
Alex grew up in Columbus, Ohio in the 1950s and 60s. His father was a graphic designer, who taught Alex how to draw. As a boy, Alex used to collect insects and dead animals and bury them in the back yard. Death and the spirit are themes in his artwork even to this day. However, there seem to have been two major influences on Alex’s artwork.
The first is that, unlike most artists, Alex spent five years at Harvard Medical School, working in the Anatomy department. His main job was to study the human body and to prepare cadavers, that is, dead bodies, for dissection. So for this reason Alex has a clear understanding of the human body, especially what it looks like on the inside, which most of us have never seen.
The second major influence on Alex’s artwork was his spiritual experiences with entheogens. An entheogen is a plant or a medicine that changes the way the mind perceives reality. The word ‘entheogen’ comes from a combination of the Greek word ‘entheos’ meaning ‘God within’ and the verb ‘to generate’. So an etheogen ‘generates God (or the divine) within a person’. In other words, entheogens allow people to look at the world in a different way, often giving people insight or guidance. In Alex’s case, the main entheogen was LSD, which The Beatles sang about in their famous song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Other examples of entheogens are psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, and ayahuasca.
So, Alex’s unique background has led to some truly impressive and unforgettable works of art. Have a look at the paintings on Alex’s website, or just do an image search for ‘Alex Grey’ and you will know what we’re talking about. And let us know what you think about his artwork on our website. Enjoy.
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