This issue is dedicated to everyone involved with the ridiculously good time and intensely spellbinding experience we had Saturday night at The Visionary Solstice Gathering (originally scheduled during the actual solstice, but was rescheduled due to what seemed like a never ending parade of snow storms). Sonar was packed as all three rooms gave way to performances by Alex and Allyson Grey with Telesma, M80 Dubstation, C.I.A., See I, ArcheDream For Humankind and Neil Kurland, among others. The Visionary Solstice Gathering was a live art event benefitting the American Visionary Art Museum. The event was produced by Soul Mob Productions in partnership with Ecosumo.
Alex and Allyson Grey, whose work and philosophy on the mystical potential of art are the driving inspiration of the Visionary Solstice Gathering. Alex’s depictions of the human form filtered through his experience with spirituality has inspired and motivated a generation of artists from all disciplines. More than this, these two together generate a powerful positive energy that is an admirable example of how two people can achieve balance through work, creativity and a loving relationship. Their combined works are too numerous to list here, so we suggest following this link to cosm.org and taking some time exploring the body of work that spans nearly four decades. A powerful duo by any measure.
Allyson and Telesma’s performance with Ian Hesford, who was exquisitely painted by Patricia Tamariz. Allyson’s work, said to represent a worldview comprised of “chaos, order and secret writing,” is an unexpected, yet riveting, juxtaposition to Alex’s ethereal, intricately coiled visions of the human form. It’s almost as though one style represents the transmission of consciousness and the other embodies the conduit. Photo by Philip Laubner.
Jason Sage of Telesma. Jason founded Telesma with Ian Hesford who have since added members Chris Mandra, Joanne Juskus, Bryan Jones and Rob Houck. Together, along with their fans, the band explores the realm of collective musical performance art. They routinely feature dancers and multimedia elements in their shows and the crowd is often filled with spontaneous performances by concert goers. Telesma is a unique and cherished component in the cultural landscape of Baltimore.
Ian Hesford and Chris Mandra of Telesma after their intense performance. Hey Chris, we heard a rumor that Great Mutant Skywheel was planning a reunion at Bourbon Street in the near future. Care to comment? Does this have anything to do with an impending Greatest Hits compilation or has the Skywheel mutated sufficiently to come full circle?
Liz Kramer is helping to prove that the line between spectator and performer is becoming increasingly blurred. It’s not unthinkable that in the near future the creators might outnumber the bystanders as artists, dancers and musicians come together to create an experience that none could achieve without a collective, and often unsolicited, collaboration.
Beka Burns spinning in front of a replica of Alex Grey’s ‘Net of Being.’ This image was most prominently featured as artwork for Tool’s 2006 album ‘10,000 Days.’
Sara P. with Dan Merrill of Aligning Minds. Aligning Minds is gearing up to take their unique brand of IDM to 22 lucky cities. On this occasion, The Solstice Gathering had the privilege of kicking off with Aligning Minds on the main stage. Follow the link at the end of this sentence to listen to their newest single
Smiles by: Tom Swiss and Alison Chicosky. Anyone remember Tom from our very first issue?
Samantha Dana, Ilana Salk and Melissa Mosheim. More smiling people. We searched all three rooms at Sonar for somebody who wasn’t having a good time, to no avail. We decided to stick with pictures of happy people.
Kyle Blount with conga player Keith Myer who sat in with multiple performers during the night.
Clint Wyer, Gonz, Casey Jackson, Liz Hubbard and musician
At one point during The Gathering we noticed the main stage was filled with seemingly ethereal beings (and we wondered if someone had slipped something into our drinks, but after some deliberation and two trips to the bathroom we discerned that we were indeed sober).
What we were witnessing was a performance by ArcheDream for Humankind. We highly recommend experiencing black light theater of these proportions before your time is up. Gorgeous. Touching. Unforgettable.
