Alex Grey and the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors

Following Alex Grey's first film, Artmind, CoSM is a documentary that further defines Grey's lofty spiritual ideals by walking the viewer through a series of works made for Grey's masterpiece, The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors. Grey, known for his cosmic, anatomically detailed paintings of humans connecting with the universe, takes the viewer on a journey from birth to death in this non-profit gallery/gathering space created for community gatherings. Starting with artworks depicting the physical body, Grey's work branches out into an exploration of various stages in a person's psychic and spiritual development, culled from a complex mix of Eastern and Western philosophical and religious perspectives. One potent example is a painting of humans dissolved into pure light, rendered in a series of hyperbolic curves and light beams bouncing off one another. Filmmaker Nick Krasnic does a fine job of allowing Grey's narration, as he explains the concepts and inspirations behind each piece, to be the focus of each scene, though CoSM's rave-era trance music soundtrack adds unnecessary melodrama. Watching CoSM is a meditation not only on art viewing but also on an artist who believes in unlimited human potential.