1966 Trips Festival... Acid Test...
Item # 726429
May 19, 1966
THE VILLAGE VOICE (weekly), Greenwich Village, New York, May 19, 1966
* New York's first Trips Festival
* The Acid Test - Magic Mushrooms - LSD
* Jackie Cassen psychedelic lights - visuals
Page 28 has a 9 x 5 1/2 inch advertisement for: "TRIPS FESTIVAL" (see images)
Background: The New York’s First Trips Festival, held in May 1966 at 23 St. Marks Place, stands as a pivotal moment in East Coast counterculture, marking the official bridge between the experimental "Acid Test" scene of the West Coast and the sophisticated multimedia art world of Manhattan. Organized primarily by Jackie Cassen and Rudi Stern, pioneers of psychedelic light art, the festival transformed the venue (then known as the Dom) into a "total environment" of sensory immersion that challenged traditional boundaries between performer and spectator. While San Francisco's festivals were rooted in communal chaos and rock music, this NYC iteration focused on "Expanded Cinema" and technical artistry, utilizing overhead projectors, strobe lights, and kaleidoscopic liquid slides to simulate the consciousness-expanding effects of LSD. Its historical significance lies in its role as a precursor to the Electric Circus, proving that the burgeoning hippie movement had a massive, commercially viable audience in the East Village; it effectively commercialized the avant-garde aesthetic of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable and helped shift the cultural center of gravity toward the multimedia, neon-drenched landscape that would define the late 1960s.
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
It is worth noting that "The Village Voice" was an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955, the Voice began as a platform for the creative community of New York City.
Complete with 40 pages, tabloid-size, one crease across the center, nice condition.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Village Voice's own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive. Rare as such.
Alert: Many issues of The Village Voice contain articles and/or photos which some consider offensive, and are certainly inappropriate for children. Please purchase with discretion.
* New York's first Trips Festival
* The Acid Test - Magic Mushrooms - LSD
* Jackie Cassen psychedelic lights - visuals
Page 28 has a 9 x 5 1/2 inch advertisement for: "TRIPS FESTIVAL" (see images)
Background: The New York’s First Trips Festival, held in May 1966 at 23 St. Marks Place, stands as a pivotal moment in East Coast counterculture, marking the official bridge between the experimental "Acid Test" scene of the West Coast and the sophisticated multimedia art world of Manhattan. Organized primarily by Jackie Cassen and Rudi Stern, pioneers of psychedelic light art, the festival transformed the venue (then known as the Dom) into a "total environment" of sensory immersion that challenged traditional boundaries between performer and spectator. While San Francisco's festivals were rooted in communal chaos and rock music, this NYC iteration focused on "Expanded Cinema" and technical artistry, utilizing overhead projectors, strobe lights, and kaleidoscopic liquid slides to simulate the consciousness-expanding effects of LSD. Its historical significance lies in its role as a precursor to the Electric Circus, proving that the burgeoning hippie movement had a massive, commercially viable audience in the East Village; it effectively commercialized the avant-garde aesthetic of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable and helped shift the cultural center of gravity toward the multimedia, neon-drenched landscape that would define the late 1960s.
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
It is worth noting that "The Village Voice" was an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955, the Voice began as a platform for the creative community of New York City.
Complete with 40 pages, tabloid-size, one crease across the center, nice condition.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Village Voice's own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive. Rare as such.
Alert: Many issues of The Village Voice contain articles and/or photos which some consider offensive, and are certainly inappropriate for children. Please purchase with discretion.
Category: The 20th Century
