Summary

The Apes' strange webpage and biographical history indicate that they are either a part of or are advertising a Crowley-inspired cult known for creating "Visionaries" through trauma and abuse.

Body

I may be repeating a couple of points from previous threads but The Apes still warrant A TON of looking into.

The Apes are an interesting part of the Comet Ping Pong investigation because they can easily hide any insinuation of pedophilia behind the plausible deniability of being hipster/punk. But it's worth noting that their whole narrative doesn't exist in a vacuum. Rather, they seem to be following the tenets of a loose, Crowley-inspired cult called The Visionaries, who are inspired by Thelemic ideas (such as the "Do as thou wilt") and Jungian Psychiatry (using trauma and horror to "release oneself", to steal the "numen" of others).

For all intents and purposes, satanic abuse victim Kim Noble was likely a victim of these practices, as the goal was not simply to abuse her, but to literally split her personality and showcase the potential of creativity-through-sexual-abuse. Remember that a Comet PP poster references Kim Noble's abuse in this poster conveniently featuring two bands with the word 'teen' in them.

Now to the Apes. If you remember the Baba's Mountain portion of their website, they reference a 'visionary' called Jackie Magik, the name a likely reference to Crowley.

http://www.theapes.com/babas1.html

http://www.theapes.com/misc/prologue.html

Jackie Magik, the maniacally focused visionary, guides the vessel with his heavily-effected voice modulations. His body shakes violently as gale forces and riverspray sweep through the mainmast, into his bass held against it, and are transmitted out again as flashing torrents of lightsound and booming triggers, signals for Ronald Wolf's rhythm track and Majestic Ape's piano incantations.

The visionary movement is inspired by occultists like Crowley and psychiatrists like CG Jung and Otto Gross, and believe that mental health mainly illusory and that most mental issues derive from repressing one's savage tendencies. That's why they are called "The Apes"--they deliberately release their madness, their transgressions and their urges for sinning as a way to heal themselves. Otto Gross is a lesser-known psychiatrist who was famous for hosting orgies and coining the term 'sexual revolution' in the late 1910s.

The Babas' Mountain page on their site talks about something called Captain 20's Children.

You have seen the graffiti on the walls. Captain 20's Children. Mount of the Child Generals. APES. Imp Ahh.

This, of course, leads to Alefantis' Transformer Gallery, and this image, which is creepy in itself but implies that the gallery name is deliberate and relates to whatever the Apes and Alefantis do in secret. And this pattern of "transformative" galleries is GLOBAL -- be it Creative Growth in Oakland, Intuit in Chicago and the American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore. So, I ask, what are these galleries really showcasing?

Back to the Apes

"Baba's Mountain" has been one of creepier and elusive parts of the investigation simply because no one really knows what it is. What we do know is that the Visionary Cult (as outlined in this book) sees Baba Ram Dass aka Richard Alpert as a pseudo-messianic figure. As one of the pioneers of LSD research, it's not surprising that he became spiritual, but what may be more important is that he started several Ashrams and retreats in New Mexico and Maui.

http://www.transformerdc.org/exhibitions/images/captain-20s-children-c20c

http://www.theapes.com/babas1.html

http://web.archive.org/web/20170214171228/https://www.ramdass.org/bio/

Other Visionaries, More Pizza

The mysterious Count 101 -- once, a traveller-orphan hustling Chinese checkers in Lincoln Town; then, his eyes opened in the Apes' workshop, soul liberated by the discovery of the world that works through the night while the masses of the other world sleep, the final quarter of the Apes' circle -- consults those invisible confidants beneath his cloak: His Voices.

Brian Baker from Bad Religion also appears on the site - He is in the "Visionary Leaders Circle" with Alefantis, Folger and Webre that forms after their annual Transformer auction. It's worth noting that Arrington de Dionysio, another Comet PP confidant, lead a band called "Old Time Relijun" and has been associated with two galleries who have the same schtick at Comet--One of Us Gallery in Los Angeles and True Measure in Portland. One of Us burns baby effigies and is obsessed with Pizza; True Measure showcases trauma-based art, like Alefantis' Transformer Gallery.

http://www.theapes.com/pics/05-april/pics5.html

http://oneofus-la.tumblr.com/post/107869032463/miles-robertson-performing-god-needs-money

http://oneofus-la.tumblr.com/post/102945351358/more-photos-from-audrey-marilyn-jacobs-for-the

http://truemeasuregallery.com/

http://www.transformerdc.org/give/visionary-friends

Hints of Pedophilia

Band member 'Breck' solemnly posing with dolls

http://www.theapes.com/pics/06-fall/pics.html?photo=15

http://www.theapes.com/pics/07-sxsw/pics.html?photo=3

"I'm not sure we want to know what the 6'6" gentleman in the bulky coat is doing hunched over in Moto's Kiddy Kamp."

http://www.theapes.com/04_10_euro/pics12.html

Still working on archiving these pages, but hopefully this info helps us get closer to at least one facet of this investigation -- that at the very least, Alefantis is hiding a Crowley Cult in his art gallery and at his restaurants.