About the Film:
Meet the World's Leading Collector of LSD Art
The powerful hallucinogen LSD has been at the core of cultural revolutions and evolutions ever since a Swiss scientist accidentally discovered its power in the 1940's. Could it cure mental diseases? …be used as a weapon of war to confuse enemy troops? … or by spies as a truth serum?
In the case of artist Mark McCloud, LSD replaced the placebo host he had during his Catholic upbringing with a true spiritual tool to connect with the electromagnetic makings of the universe.
Now, years later, he is the world's leading collector of LSD art. His "Institute of Illegal Images" has over 30,000 framed hits of acid and traces the history of the drug's cultural influence through the unique art form used in its distribution - blotter art.
After enduring and defeating aggressive prosecutions by law enforcement seeking to put him behind bars for life, Mark now appears to be more of a visionary than an outlaw and his museum has become a place of pilgrimage for believers in LSD's spiritual power.
Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.”
― Steve Jobs
