Favourite art books

[caban]

Great topic, thanks for starting this!

I'd like to make an itemized list, which includes the books you've already mentioned:

Alex Grey: Sacred Mirrors (one of the most groundbreaking visionary art books of all time)
Alex Grey: Transfigurations (picking up where Sacred Mirrors left off)
Alex Grey: Net Of Being (brand new, just as epic as the others.)
...and Alex is cranking out some of his most epic work as we speak, so stay tuned for more. Www.cosm.org

Robert Venosa: Noospheres (beautiful organic psychedelia)
Robert Venosa: Illuminatus (at least as heavyweight a book as Noospheres)
Robert Venosa: Mannas Manna (haven't seen this one yet)
Venosa is no longer with us. He is survived by his partner, artist Martina Hoffman) www.venosa.com

De Es Schwertberger: Heavy Light (An incredible chronicle of a spiritual transformation through art) www.dees.at

Johfra: Hoogste Lichten en Diepste Schaduwen (Johfra is not well known but was an important part of the psychedelic art movement. This book is big and thick and super impressive. Worth collecting even if you don't speak Dutch) I found that and other books by him here: Johfra - AbeBooks

Patrick Woodroffe: Pastures In The Sky (recent works, epic and visionary)
Patrick Woodroffe: Mythokoepion (early works including illustrations)
Woodroffe comes from deep in the 1960's psychedelic world. Patrick Woodroffe

Guy Aitchison: Organica
I feel funny including this in the list, because this fellow is your very own Guyomech. But I can tell you for a fact that it was very much inspired by psychedelic exploration, so it does qualify, and we are almost through our second printing of them. Www.hyperspacestudios.com

And then the darker visionary stuff:

H.R. Giger: Necronomicon
H.R. Giger: Necronomicon II
H.R. Giger: Biomechanics
H.R. Giger: New York City
Giger is the mind behind the dark biomechanical design in the original Ridley Scott Alien movie. These books are all absolutely epic, and although dark, are definitely in the psychedelic spectrum. Www.hrgiger.com

Beksinski: The Fantastic Art of Beksinski
There are a number of other titles available, mostly small, short run books. His work was both dark and transcendental, and utterly unique. Although many of his visions were nightmarish, his aim was always to create beautiful art. Beksinski fantastic art book from morpheus

If I think of any others, I'll add them.

 

[Orion]

God dammit, how do I get that good? Someone take me in for a few years to study yeah? Cheers. I look at these guys work and I think, HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW to put that light there, how the hell did you know that shadow would be cast there? All those complex shapes and tones, as if one had a reference for these impossible architecture with which to study as if from real life!

WTF!

I WANNA DO THAT!

EDIT: Yeah Manas Manna is a cool book, possibly most of it is featured in illuminatus too,

 

[Guyomech]

Orion, you are well on your way... When you have fifty pieces as strong as "Ego Death", you'll be a force to be reckoned with.

 

[Mr.Peabody]

God dammit, how do I get that good? Someone take me in for a few years to study yeah? Cheers. I look at these guys work and I think, HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW to put that light there, how the hell did you know that shadow would be cast there? All those complex shapes and tones, as if one had a reference for these impossible architecture with which to study as if from real life!

WTF!

I WANNA DO THAT!

I second this!

...this fellow is your very own Guyomech.

That's funny, I thought the same thing when I saw his work. :roll:

There are countless books compiling work by two of my favorites, M. C. Escher and Salvador Dali. They are not psychedelic in the actual "used drugs for inspiration" sense (though, I have to wonder about Dali), but their works are psychedelic in their own right. And really, isn't psychedelic use about achieving states of mind, anyway? These two certainly achieved quite psychedelic states of mind.

 

[Cosmiclearning]

My two favorite books of all time, and they are all worn out and crumbling.

Alex Grey- Transfigurations
Guy Aitchison- Organica

Other than that I just go outside and look at rocks and dirt and bugs for inspiration :d

 

[Mr.Peabody]

caban,
You were dead on. I love her art! This picture is almost exactly what I've seen in a heavy DMT dose.

I almost forgot! An artist I just recently discovered who's art is simple, elegant, beautiful and quite psychedelic is Judith Braun. Much of her work is in only graphite and often she used her hands to create it. It is quite colorful when in an altered state, though. Here's one of my favorites. Unfortunately no books with her work, though.