Today on Mushroom Hour we chat with my good friend, talented artist and fellow mycophile Michael Campbell. Michael is a sculptural artist based in the San Francisco bay area whose work explores our connection to the mysterious fungi kingdom. Be sure to visit the links below for information on his upcoming shows!
Join us as we enter the mind and studio of Michael Campell. Michael's fungi sculptures are colorful and mysterious, centering around mushrooms like amanita muscaria and psilocybe cubensis. We explore the inspiration for his evocative work and how he makes these incredibly realistic sculptures. Like branches of an oak tree, his body of work winds in different directions and the symbolism and inspiration for each is unique. From dome-worlds and teacup universes to mushroom-adorned Judeo-Christian statues, his genuine reverence for mushrooms shines through.
The deep dive is inevitable as we discuss the artist's relationship with psychedelic mushrooms. How has the psilocybin experience inspired his current body of artwork, and more broadly his relationship with nature? The connections mushrooms have with spirituality, religious myths and death are evident through history, usually with evidence passed down through artwork. Michael's own work is certainly a channel that makes manifest the very same symbolism and themes that mushrooms seem to evoke.
Thanks for listening and Mush Love!
Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour
(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)
Music by: Ancient Baby
Art by: Wyn Di Stefano
Episode Resources
Michael Campbell IG: https://www.instagram.com/michaelcampbellart/
Corey Helford Gallery - Fantastical Beasts Show: https://www.coreyhelfordgallery.com/shows/fantastical-beasts/info-press/
Michael Campbell at Modern Eden: https://www.moderneden.com/collections/all/michael-campbell
(BOOK) John Allegro - The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross: https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276
(REF) Plaincourault Chapel - Amanita Fresco: http://www.herbmuseum.ca/content/fresco-plaincourault-possibly-depicting-fly-agaric
Ep. 98: Hips & Haws Wildcrafts - Ireland's Wild Mushrooms, Herbal Medicines & Explorations of Amanita muscaria (feat. Courtney Tyler)
Ep. 97: Mushrooms of the Mountain Ranges & High Meadows of California (feat. Thea Chesney)
Ep. 96: Hyphae Labs - The First Annual Oakland Psychedelic Conference (feat. Reggie, Ian and Tomás from Hyphae Labs)
Ep. 95: Spiritual Impulses, the Ecological Self & a Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom (feat. Dr. Andy Letcher)
Ep. 94: Medicinal Mushrooms - Boost Immunity, Improve Memory, Fight Cancer, Stop Infection & Expand Your Consciousness (feat. Dr. Christopher Hobbs)
Ep. 93: Mycoviruses - Fungal Disease, Plant Resilience & Hypovirus Biocontrols (feat. Bryce Alex)
Ep. 92: Fungal Diversity Survey - Championing Fungal Conservation, Together (feat. Bill Sheehan PhD & Gabriela D'Elia)
Ep. 91: Bioluminescent Fungi, Mysterious Endophytes & the Mushrooms of Vanuatu (feat. Brian Perry PhD)
Ep. 90: Fungi Freights - Detroit's Urban Lab & Environmental Studio (feat. Tess Burzynski)
Ep. 89: Forage London - Urban Foraging & Emotional Connection to Green Spaces (feat. John Rensten)
Ep. 88: Amanita Dreamer - Piercing the Veil on Entheogenic Uses of Amanita muscaria (feat. Amanita Dreamer)
Ep. 87: Cryptic Fungi, Laboulbeniales & Pushing the Boundaries of Fungal Exploration (feat. Danny Haelewaters PhD)
Ep. 86: Fungi Foundation - The Future is Fungi (feat. Giuliana Furci & Nathalie Kelley)
Ep. 85: Fungal Plant Pathogens, Dimorphic Transformation & Lessons from Smut Fungi (feat. Dr. Michael Perlin)
Ep. 84: Darren Le Baron - Psychedelic Traditions in Africa, Mushroom Cultivation & Remembering Who We Are (feat. Darren Springer)
Ep. 83: Eat Weeds - Wild Plant Contemplations, Healing with Foraging & Perspectives in Ethnobotany (feat. Robin Harford)
Ep. 82: Zombie Cicadas, Fungivore Millipedes & Forest Pathology (feat. Dr. Matt Kasson)
Ep. 81: Fungi Magazine, Telluride Mushroom Festival & Our Future with Fungi (feat. Britt Bunyard)
Ep. 80: Finding the Mother Tree - Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest (feat. Prof. Suzanne Simard)
Ep. 79: Solutions in Soil Carbon, Fungal Inspiration & Creating New Value Systems (feat. Larry Evans)
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