BEAM 1.1 / BE-IN

Part I  |  Part II  |  This is Part III  |  Part IV

Greeting guests at the gate of SomArts Gallery was the largest altar of all, an adored and adorned symbol of the sixties, none other than the infamous Merry Pranksters Further bus. This mobile altar, cruising the highways on a totally not-serious Mission from God, is a psychedelic vision of freedom. Painted ribbons untwirling on its sides, it creates a colorful flash on the street that instinctually brings some reaction from every one who is blessed with its darshan. This is an essential ingredient of any altar, it is there to illicit a reaction from the viewer: a smile, a memory, a laugh, skepticism, devotion, guilt, bliss...it's different every moment. The gods have a unique message for each devotee, a message which can be found even on the side of a bus.

One could look at the entire SomArts Gallery on the night of the 11th Digital Be-In as a Sacred Temple, sanctified by the devout expressions of human creativity within. In the Ambient Salon, lead designers Randy and Dagny transformed what was a huge empty warehouse space into a cozy cradle ringed by several small altars with whimsical offerings to the supernatural gods of pure fantasy. Center stage, a bigger-than-life golden Buddha head with a lapis blue crown of curls blissfully welcomed one and all to relax and enjoy this sacred space. The music, an ambient web that mutated between live didgeridoo and electronica, created a mood to let yourself wander, kick back amongst piles of pillows, and absorb the lessons of the night.

The two trance areas were the balance to the Be-In, situated on either end of this huge "temple." While in the inner sanctum on the Main Stage the high priests wailed, innovative ideas were shared in the Human Frontier room, and psychedelic visions absorbed in Zavtone heaven, the ambient room was spreading peace on one end while the dancers in the Trance Cube gyrated their devotion.

The far end of the giant Trance Cube room hosted a collection of altars, each a unique environment of exotic discoveries. A gentle forest grew near the door, a delicate arrangement of natural beauty lovingly created by Courtney, Saisha and Naomi. Gazing at it for what may in fact have been a very long time (who's to know? this was the Trance Cube, after all...) I shrunk to about beetle size and crawled through the meticulously arranged palm fronds, tree bark and branches, pre-historic looking cactus flowers and other wonders of nature. The word that kept coming to mind was: enchanting.

Courtney's initial concept for their altar was around the idea of "reflection" while Saisha expounded upon the natural elements. A delicate wreath surrounded a mirror on the wall which floated over a bowl of water, both creating reflections where the viewer could, as Saisha described it, "center themself, within themself."

In one corner of the room, nestled beneath a selection of her mythological multi-dimensional collages that are featured regularly in Zavtone Magazine, Octavia combined the magic of ancient Egypt with the cultures of Abalonia and Atlantis. "These times and places are part of my soul heritage, a time when priestesses and fantasy creatures existed. My altar is all about art and expressing yourself while recognizing your animal nature," explained the radiant Octavia, dressed in matching shades of blue and purple to compliment her iridescent altar. Bast Cat, the Egyptian feline-goddess of the arts, was represented as was an exceptionally powerful peacock-colored dragon, lurking amidst the myriad collections of sacred objects gathered by Octavia. In the candlelight sprinkled all across her altar, this mystical wonderland of treasures glowed like an underwater temple to the gods of the elements.

Betsy found the auspiciously intended spot for her Mayan-inspired temple in the embrace of a soaring natural wood door...an urban grove of pines, if you just use your imagination. Inside the spacious tent, draped with brilliant black light banners and outlined in twinkling starry lights, presided the angelic shaman, Betsy, who lovingly explained the Mayan calendar and interpreted her visitors' Mayan birthdays.

As for my altars, they evolved serendipitously as they always do. While I was gathering altar supplies, looking around my home temple to decide which gods and goddesses and all their appropriate accouterment would get go to the Be-In, almost all of them cried out begging to be chosen. But only so many bronze and stone statues can be carried, so I decided to build two distinct altars so that both the Buddhist images as well as the Hindu ones felt represented. Shiva was the Hindu god who cried the most fervently, determined to go dance at the Be-In, so I dedicated one altar entirely to Him and the other belonged to Buddha.

Observing Buddha nature, with a California twist, His altar developed into a spacious and almost classical display. Big Buddha presided, a large gilded head covered in bangles and beads with a serene look and a sweet smile. He chose to be surrounded simply by flowers and sparkling cloth, and two lotus lamps that glowed warmly besides him.

Across the room Shiva towered proudly in all his gaudy finery. Naturally Shiva Nataraj, all four feet bronzeness of him, had to come to the dance. A vertically designed altar, this one was crowned with the ecstatically dancing Nataraj [link to photo of Nikki's Shiva altar] while a hefty stone lingam and other members and symbols of the Shiva lineage partied below him. Flowers were sprinkled everywhere, the lingam was anointed, and kum kum (consecrated red powder) was smeared on the deities as well as curious observers throughout the night. On the wall behind the altar were projected images of Hindu temples, creating a stone space to worship Shiva.

What good fortune that Swami Chaitanya was in town from Goa, India for the Be-In this year. Not only did his wonderfully orange Swami-self add to the authenticity to the Shiva altar, but he tucked up his lungi and dove right into the community fun. Content with six projectors (although he used to be even more content when he was a hippie lightshow artist at the old Fillmore with 24 projectors all going at once!), Swamiji created his own visual altars. Perched on a high wall, he projected handpainted slides stonily created by him and fellow commune family members back in the 60's onto a giant weather balloon suspended over the dance floor. These timeless psychedelic visions wrapped around the floating globe merged to become a floating planet hovering above the trance-dancers heads.

And so the spiritechno tribals convened again, to summon the gods and the mighty forces. Mysteries were evoked, freedom was expressed, and devotion danced. Blessings abound.

*Stay tuned for the next edition of Radio V/Beam and my Do-It-Yourself guide to creating altars!

ALTARING HISTORY

The Digital Be-In and the Art of the Altar have a deep connection. It was at the 9th Be-In, the first one to be held at SomArts Gallery, that the "virtual altar room" was conceived. Coordinated by Claire Corich, the room brought together numerous altar artists from different rave circles, the first time their works were so assembled in one place. The result was a beautiful and powerful display of mystical and natural treasures. With the addition of ambient music, it was an inviting and comforting space to invoke the spirit, enjoyed by many Be-In attendees. The altars lined the perimeter of the room, so organized by artist Dianna Rawleigh, who shot QuickTime VR panoramic images of the room and later composed the actual "Virtual Altar Room" from these panoramas on the Be-In website.

At the January 1997 10th Anniversary Be-In, held at 1015 Folsom Street, Dianna coordinated the event's environment and with her talented associates created an array of stunning altars. In the Drum n' Bassment, an organic mandala of rocks, branches, flowers and fabrics created an earthy yet ethereal environment. Up in the Ambient Salon, inspiring abstract altars wrought of delicate fabrics, candles and sacred objects morphed into the day-glow banners and decorations, all blending into one magical sacred space.

Part I  |  Part II  |  This is Part III  |  Part IV