The California spirit of innovation and transmogrification showed itself when Alex Grey’s “Purple Jesus” oil-on-wood painting made its way to San Francisco. It was purchased by a shrewd collector, Mark McCloud, who turned the image into what became Purple Jesus Blotter in the early 1990s. Through a complicated history and even more complicated philosophy of psychedelia, the lasting significance of Jesus for both McCloud and the California narrative highlight the significance of this trippy Jesus story.

Keywords:
Jesus, Purple Jesus blotter, LSD, San Francisco psychedelia, Mark McCloud, Alex Grey, blotter art
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2015