Ecstatic Recital

The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, a spiritual album recorded at Sai Anantam Ashram in California in the 1980s and 90s, repeats a refrain; offering of a sensory space from which to consider a cross-atlantic interpretation of eastern philosophy. Ecstatic Recital invites a meditation on the black ecstatic. It vibrates through the ambient sounds of Laraaji, the devotional rhythms of Coltrane through to the conceptual performance and sculptural work of the late American artist Terry Adkins. The repetition of sounds, chanting, drumming and bells open a pathway to universal consciousness.

Documenting a spiritual transformation, a journey to India through the lens of a global and eclectic group, the collection comprises a mix of temporality and cultural interpretation. An eccentric clashing of evening duchesse and nylon performance wear in an ambient palette of marigold and rust. Entering glistening mountains, the pan-continental aesthete, interprets his surroundings, patchworking handwoven Indian brocades into aprons and hood linings, adorning the plisse of dress shirting with fresh hand stitched daisies.

The silhouette is spacious and elongated. Spiritual energy transferred close to the skin. Minimalist suiting embellished with rose quartz as cufflinks, sound chimes in the tingsha closure, allowing one to experience a deeper relaxation. Celestial Vibrations.

Intellectual and historic characters have a different connection to India and the group, wearing emblems of their education. A lightweight, silk pinstripe shirt, rhythmically collaged with pages of the work of Terry Adkins, a collaboration with Harlem-based artist Eric N.Mack, reimagining a madras check handpainted into a grid. A slim shouldered tuxedo serves as a minimalist interpretation of 1920s evening wear, via the portraiture of Maharajah Holkar of Indore.

Wellness and comfort inform the looser silhouettes and the introduction of relaxation wear, a distinct mix of high and low. The yoga group’s chants remain present in oversized hoodies and lightweight cotton yoga pants embroidered with mantras from Ram Dass’ 1971 seminal work on spirituality, yoga and meditation, Be Here Now, donations of which will go to the Hanuman Foundation.

 

REFERENCES

Adkins, T. and Berry, I. (2017).

Terry Adkins Recital. New York: The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College and DelMonico Books. Adkins, T., Gaines, C. and Lewis, R. (2018).

Terry Adkins: The Smooth, The Cut, and The Assembled. New York: Lévy Gorvy. Coltrane, A. (2017)

The Ecstatic Music Of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda [CD]. LBOP-087. Luaka Bop Coltrane, A. (2011)

Huntington Ashram Monastery / World Galaxy [CD]. 06025 2780946 . Impulse! Dass, R. (1978).

Be Here Now. New York: Hanuman Foundation. Jain-Neubauer, J. (2000).

Feet & footwear in Indian culture. Toronto: Bata Shoe Museum in association with Mapin Pub. Ahmedabad. Jamme, F., Rinder, L., Berkson, B. and Padoux, A. (2011). Tantra Song. Los Angeles: Siglio Press. Johnson, R. and Widholm, J. (2012).

Rashid Johnson: Message to Our Folks. Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Laraaji, 2017 Celestial Music 1978-2011 . [CD] . WAST036LP . All Saints Laraaji, 2017 Bring on The Sun [VINYL] .

WAST 054LP. All Saints Laraaji, 1978 Lotus Collage [CD] . LR071. Leaving Records Wendt, L., Banning, N., Jhaveri, S. and Sanders, S. (2017). Lionel Wendt: Ceylon. Amsterdam: Fw: Books