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Leigh Joseph McCloskey is not just an artist—he is an explorer of consciousness, a storyteller of the unseen, and a philosopher of the human experience. Born in Los Angeles in 1955, McCloskey first gained recognition as an actor in the 1976 miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man before embarking on a lifelong journey into art, symbolism, and esoteric philosophy. His work spans painting, writing, and immersive installations that transform physical spaces into portals of expanded awareness.
McCloskey’s home in Malibu, known as Olandar, houses The Hieroglyph of the Human Soul, a multi-dimensional art installation that invites visitors into a world of myth, alchemy, and self-reflection. His book Tarot ReVisioned offers an intricate reinterpretation of the Hermetic Tarot, intertwining Jungian psychology, Grail mythology, and alchemical wisdom. Over the years, his work has reached diverse audiences, from music fans—his art appeared in Flying Lotus’s Cosmogramma—to scholars and seekers drawn to his deep philosophical insights.
In this conversation, McCloskey shares the experiences and ideas that have shaped his creative path.
“Are You Willing to Become Human?”
Q: You often speak of vision as a journey. Can you describe what that means to you?
Leigh McCloskey: Imagine standing at the threshold of something vast—something beyond logic, beyond even what we think of as imagination. This is the journey of vision. It’s the willingness to step into the unknown, to see multi-dimensionally, to experience the infinite reflections of being.
I think of it as the moment when we decide to take the adventure of becoming human. There is a watcher within us—a part of our consciousness that observes this journey. But to truly experience life, we must step beyond that watcher, take on a body, and embrace the forgetting.
We are born knowing everything, and yet, paradoxically, we must learn it all again. This is the artist’s dilemma—how do we keep discovering? How do we remain fresh in our perception? We must forget so that we may rediscover.
The Human Tree and the Journey of Longing
Q: You’ve spoken about a powerful vision you had on the winter solstice of 2011. What did you see?
LM: I wanted to understand why humanity experiences such anguish, such emptiness. The vision took me to a burned-out sequoia, what I call the “human tree.”
It was thousands of feet tall, and though its center had been hollowed out by fire, it was still alive, still reaching upward. It had burned long ago, but it didn’t die. Instead, the emptiness within it forced it to grow higher and higher.
The tree asked me: Is this beauty enough?
At that moment, I saw embers—sparks of consciousness—rising from the branches, gathering at the top into a vortex that formed a golden brain. It revealed to me that we are an operating system, a consciousness evolving over millennia. But until we take responsibility for our own creation, we remain disconnected from the truth of our being.
This is the paradox of being human. We long for something we think is beyond us, but in truth, we are already that which we seek.
9/11 and the Emergence of Kuan Yin
Q: Was there a particular moment that shifted your artistic direction?
LM: Yes. September 11, 2001. Like everyone else, I felt an overwhelming sense of anguish. It wasn’t just intellectual—it was visceral. Something had collapsed, and it couldn’t be undone.
In the aftermath, I began painting orbs. These orbs weren’t planned; they emerged organically, like music improvising itself onto the canvas. And then, within the orbs, I began to see a figure taking shape—Kuan Yin, the goddess of compassion.
She revealed something profound to me: everything, even destruction, is part of the weave of the whole. Nothing is truly separate. We are all returning home.
One of the pivotal pieces I created during this time was a nine-inch tile—one small part of a larger work, but within it, the elongated form of the “watcher” appeared. It was as if consciousness itself was whispering through the paint. That was the beginning of a deeper journey into the language of symbols.
Breaking Free from the System
Q: You’ve spoken about humanity as an “operating system.” What do you mean by that?
LM: We are born into a world of infinite reflections. We look at ourselves in mirrors, in screens, in the eyes of others. But the real challenge is to stop seeking validation outside and to turn our gaze inward.
The question is not “How do I escape the system?” but rather, Where can I ask these deeper questions?
You see, we’ve spent so much energy trying to convince those who will never understand. But real transformation happens when we speak to those who already listen. If we stop shouting at the deaf and begin whispering to those who hear, everything changes. That is the power of quantum energy—of imagination.
We wait, like petulant children, expecting the world to change for us. But the energy is saying: Become the change yourself.
A Final Thought: The Lover and the Beloved
Q: What would you say is the ultimate lesson in all of this?
LM: That we must reclaim our own story. We must re-enter the picture of our own lives.
Take poetry, for example. People lament that no one reads poetry anymore. But I say: Read to the flowers. Read to the birds. The spirit of poetry will bring the right people to you.
The same applies to love. How many people do we really need in bed? The first relationship we must cultivate is with the creative. That is the beloved. That is where the real magic happens.
If we can stop performing for the reflection, if we can stop worrying about how others perceive us and instead truly see the world around us, then we will finally understand what it means to be human.
And that, I believe, is the great adventure.
Exploring Leigh McCloskey’s Work
Leigh McCloskey continues to share his visionary art and philosophy through immersive tours of his home studio, Olandar, as well as through his books and public lectures. His work has been featured in music, film, and cultural spaces, bridging the mystical with the everyday.
His book Tarot ReVisioned remains a cornerstone of his explorations, offering a deeply intricate journey through symbolism and mythology. His ongoing artistic endeavors, including The Hieroglyph of the Human Soul, invite visitors to step into a living, breathing work of art—one that challenges, expands, and transforms the way we see ourselves and the world around us.
For more on his work, visit www.leighmccloskey.com
