Transfigurations
Book Review by Dawn Brunke

 

The necessary essence of art is love. The true artist is a sacred performer. The true artist must do the magic that causes others to participate in conditional reality in the sacred sense, or the sense of love, in the sense of self-transcendence, in the sense of ecstasy.                                                 ~Avatar Adi Da

The entire history of art is an expression of universal creativity that invisibly surrounds and supports every creative act.                                                  ~Alex Grey

Transfigurations ~ by Alex Grey (Inner Traditions, 2001; hardcover, $49.95)

Ready to be blown away? Some have likened the art of Alex Grey to a sacred vehicle that allows us to transcend our consensual view of the world so as to redefine who we really are and why we are really here.

Grey is perhaps best known for his paintings of human beings that expose layer upon layer of reality: from the physical realm of bones, muscles and blood vessels to the metaphysical energy of chakras and nadis (or energy currents) flowing through the body to the glowing, transpersonal, translucent light webs that connect all of us to All That Is on a hyper-dimensional, spiritual plane of existence. His first book, Sacred Mirrors, was a collection of this visionary art, much of it based on anatomical atlases and actual dissections when Grey worked at a morgue. As even his earliest paintings reveal, Grey’s deeper interest is in the progress of the soul and the relationship of our essential divine essence as it lives through our corporeal, earthly vehicle.

Transfigurations is a collection of the work Grey has done in the last ten years, along with examples of his earlier work (from as young as 5 years old) and photos of the performance art pieces he collaborated on with his wife, artist Allyson Grey. (Although some of this was also present in Sacred Mirrors, those who are intrigued with Grey as an artist will find a more abundant exploration of his earlier life in this book.)

Transfiguration (an ancient word meaning “to glorify and exalt”) is, of course, at the center of this collection as well as at the center of Grey himself. His ideas, thoughts, visions, dreams, experiences and paintings themselves – all intertwine in a way that creatively reflect and refract upon each other, commingling in an ever evolving exploration of being.

For example, Grey first saw a version of his painting “Transfigurations” within a dream. In the dream, he was painting the piece called Transfigurations – a human figure floating above the earth sphere, fleshy at the feet and becoming more translucent as it merges into a larger, brightly glowing crystal sphere. That dream image provided the inspiration that fueled Grey’s vision upon later ingesting (via smoke) a potent psychedelic. He writes, “I experienced the transfigured subject of my painting firsthand. In my vision my feet were the foundation of the material world. As I inhaled, the material density of my body seemed to dissolve and I “popped” into the bright world of living geometry and infinite spirit. I noticed strange jewel-like chakra centers within my glowing wire-frame spirit body and spectral colors that were absent from my dream painting. I was in my future painting and was being given an experience of the state so I could better re-create it.”

This type of experiential “magic” is characteristic of Grey’s life and art. It underscores his appreciation of the psychedelics as entheogens – or, “sacraments for voyaging into the Godhead.”  Indeed, much of Grey’s work grows out of, embraces and becomes one with the psychedelic visions that allow him to experience what he calls the “Universal Mind Lattice,” a shared consciousness that no longer identifies with the physical, but transcends through a speeding sense of time and movement in which a fundamental realization occurs: “We were the Light, and the Light was God.”

Other subjects Grey has explored via his art these past ten years are myriad: the visionary origin of language; a study of breath through the body; a visual portrayal of what energy in the body looks like while meditating or fire walking or making love, or while in despair, insomnia or self-hatred; the stages of transforming consciousness during the process of dying. Clearly, this book is not for the squeamish or those unwilling to contemplate shadow material. And yet, for those willing to go the distance, the rewards are enormous.

So, too, are there joyous, ecstatic pieces that reach out and touch one to the core: the laughing man, an energetic portrayal of healing hands, and Grey’s conception of a chapel of healing mirrors. There is also an in-depth chapter on Nature of Mind, a large altarpiece in which seven oil paintings placed in an ornately carved and painted gold-leaf frame depict the visionary journey of a spiritual wanderer seeking his own true nature.

In addition to the paintings, this book holds articles and interviews by those who have known Grey throughout the years. There is a prologue by Albert Hofmann (who discovered LSD back in 1943); a history of Grey’s early years; an overview on sacred relationship and his work with Allyson; an exploration of the mysticism in his art; and a fascinating conversation between Grey and writer/thinker Ken Wilber. Further, there are liberal quotes and commentary from Grey himself, on his paintings, beliefs, thoughts, ideas and more.

The publisher has done a fantastic job with this book. The layout is inviting, text profound, the painting colors sharp, bright and vibrant. This is a book you don’t merely read, but live with. Like its subject matter, it initially seems to occupy such a small physical reality. But, as you stare into the paintings, open yourself to the flow of ideas and emotions intermingling, you are stretched in ways unforeseen and astonishing. The visual presence of intelligence, inspiration, beauty and compassion for all beings is profoundly moving. And, for this, may we be truly grateful.