NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Psychedelic art

Psychedelic art is art inspired by the psychedelic experience induced by drugs such as LSD, Mescaline, and Psilocybin. The word "psychedelic" (coined by British psychologist Humphrey Osmond) means "mind manifesting". By that definition all artistic efforts to depict the inner world of the psyche may be considered "psychedelic". However, in common parlance "Psychedelic Art" refers above all to the art movement of the 1960s counterculture. Psychedelic visual arts were a counterpart to psychedelic rock music. Concert posters, album covers, lightshows, murals, comic books, underground newspapers and more reflected not only the kaleidoscopically swirling patterns of LSD hallucinations, but also revolutionary political, social and spiritual sentiments inspired by insights derived from these psychedelic states of consciousness. Cover of the Carlos Santana album Abraxas This is an album cover. ... Cover of the Carlos Santana album Abraxas This is an album cover. ... Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947), known simply as Carlos Santana or Santana, is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-born American Latin rock musician and guitarist. ... Abraxas is the second album by psychedelic rock band Santana, released in September of 1970 (see 1970 in music). ... Mati Klarwein (April 9, 1932 â€“ March 7, 2002) was a German painter. ... Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD, LSD-25, or acid. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Psilocybin (also known as psilocybine) is a psychedelic alkaloid of the tryptamine family, found in psilocybin mushrooms. ... This guy was cool. ... // The counterculture of the 1960s began in the United States as a reaction against the conservative social norms of the 1950s, the political conservatism (and perceived social repression) of the Cold War period, and the US governments extensive military intervention in Vietnam. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Features of psychedelic art

A toy kaleidoscope tube Pattern as seen through a kaleidoscope tube Pattern as seen through a kaleidoscope tube Pattern as seen through a kaleidoscope tube The kaleidoscope is a tube of mirrors containing, loose coloured beads or pebbles, or other small coloured objects. ... The boundary of the Mandelbrot set is a famous example of a fractal. ... Paisley wallpaper Paisley or Paisley pattern is a droplet-shaped vegetal motif of Persian origin, similar to half of the Yin yang symbol, or the leaf of the Indian bodhi tree or the mango tree. ... A collage composed of magazine articles and pictures Collage (From the French: , to stick) is regarded as a work of visual arts made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ... A Phosphene is the experience of light without light coming into the eye. ... Entoptic phenomena are visual effects whose source is within the eye itself. ...

Origins

Despite the surprisingly large number of hallucinogens known by the mid-twentieth century, the psychedelic art movement began in earnest with the discovery, and popularization, of LSD. Lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD-25, had come into the world serendipitously when, in 1943, a Swiss pharmaceutical engineer named Albert Hofmann had accidentally inhaled vapors from a laboratory experiment. Hofmann had returned home after feeling dizzy, only to find himself suddenly overtaken by “an uninterrupted stream of fantastic images of extraordinary plasticity and vividness and accompanied by an intense kaleidoscopic play of colors.”^[1] He’d passed his discovery on to additional researchers at the pharmaceutical company Sandoz, who’d determined that this powerful new compound nevertheless had an extremely low toxicity level and seemed helpful in breaking down barriers during psychoanalysis and in simulating psychosis.^[2] Marketed as delysid, LSD-25 quietly took its place on the shelves of American laboratories as early as 1949.^[3] Few would have guessed that within a decade and a half, an array of social, political, and economic factors would align to make LSD one of the most culturally influential chemicals in modern history. Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD, LSD-25, or acid. ... Dr. Dr. Albert Hofmann (born January 11, 1906) is a prominent Swiss scientist best known as the father of LSD. He was born in Baden, Switzerland, and studied chemistry at the University of ZÃ¼rich. ...

Early artistic experimentation with LSD was conducted in a clinical context by Los Angeles based psychiatrist Oscar Janiger. Janiger asked a group of 50 different artists to each do a painting from life of a subject of the artist's choosing. They were subsequently asked to do the same painting while under the influence of LSD. The two paintings were compared by Janiger and also the artist. The artists almost unanimously reported LSD to be an enhancement to their creativity. Dr. Oscar Janiger was a University of California Irvine Psychiatrist who was best known for his LSD research, which lasted from 1954 to 1962. ...

Beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs became proponents of LSD and other psychedelics during the 1950s. The beat culture acknowledged the role of psychedelics as sacred entheogens in Native American cultures, and also had an understanding of the philosophy of the surrealist and symbolist poets who called for a "complete disorientation of the senses" (to paraphrase Arthur Rimbaud). They knew that altered states of consciousness played a role in Eastern Mysticism. LSD was the perfect catalyst to electrify the eclectic mix of ideas assembled by the beats into a cathartic panacea for the succeeding generation. Irwin Allen Ginsberg (IPA: ) (June 3, 1926 â€“ April 5, 1997) was an American poet. ... William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914) - August 2, 1997), more commonly known as William S. Burroughs (pronounced ), was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer. ... Rimbaud redirects here. ...

Psychedelic Art in 1960's Counterculture

Leading proponents of the 1960s Psychedelic Art movement were San Francisco poster artists such as: Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso, Stanley Mouse & Alton Kelley, and Wes Wilson. Their Psychedelic Rock concert posters were inspired by Art Nouveau, Victoriana, Dada, and Pop Art. Richly saturated colors in glaring contrast, elaborately ornate lettering, strongly symmetrical composition, collage elements, and bizarre iconography are all hallmarks of the San Francisco psychedelic poster art style. The style flourished from about 1966 - 1972. Their work was immediately influential to album cover art, and indeed all of the aforementioned artists also created album covers. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Richard Alden Griffin (June 18, 1944 - August 18, 1991) was an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters in the 1960s. ... Victor Moscoso is an American illustrator and comic artist, especially noted for his work in the late 1960s as a designer of psychedelic concert posters and a contributor to underground comix (he is among the artists who regularly appear in Zap Comix). ... Stanley Mouse Miller (1940-present) is an American artist best known for his psychedelic art designs for 1960s rock concert posters, as well as Grateful Dead album cover art. ... This article or section needs to be wikified. ... Vitebsk Railway Station one of the finest examples of Art Nouveau architecture. ... Cover of the first edition of the publication, Dada. ... Just What Is It That Makes Todayâ€™s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956) is one of the earliest works to be considered pop art. ...

Although San Francisco remained the hub of psychedelic art into the early 1970s, the style also developed internationally: Majorca based painter Mati Klarwein created psychedelic masterpieces for Miles Davis' Jazz-Rock fusion albums, and also for Carlos Santana Latin Rock. Pink Floyd worked extensively with London based designers, Hipgnosis to create graphics to support the concepts in their albums. Mati Klarwein (April 9, 1932 â€“ March 7, 2002) was a German painter. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947), known simply as Carlos Santana or Santana, is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-born American Latin rock musician and guitarist. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their avant-garde progressive rock music. ... Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Styx, Def Leppard, and Black Sabbath. ...

Psychedelic light-shows were a new art-form developed for rock concerts. Using oil and dye in an emulsion that was set between large convex lenses upon overhead projectors the lightshow artists created bubbling liquid visuals that pulsed in rhythm to the music. This was mixed with slideshows and film loops to create an improvisational motion picture art form to give visual representation to the improvisational jams of the rock bands and create a completely "trippy" atmosphere for the audience. The Brotherhood of Light were responsible for many of the light-shows in San Francisco psychedelic rock concerts. This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

Out of the psychedelic counterculture also arose a new genre of comic books: underground comix. "Zap Comix" was among the original underground comics, and featured the work of Robert Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin, and Robert Williams among others. Underground Comix were ribald, intensely satirical, and seemed to pursue weirdness for the sake of weirdness. Gilbert Shelton created perhaps the most enduring of underground cartoon characters, "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers," whose drugged out exploits held a hilarious mirror up to the hippy lifestyle of the 1960s. Mr. ... Robert Dennis Crumb, often credited simply as R. Crumb (born August 30, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a U.S. artist and illustrator recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream. ... S. Clay Wilson is a comic artist, a central figure in the underground comix movement. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940, Houston, Texas) is an American cartoonist and underground comics artist. ... The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, 1st issue, 1971, by Gilbert Shelton The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers are a trio of underground comic strip characters created by the U.S. artist Gilbert Shelton. ...

Psychedelic art was also applied to the LSD itself. LSD began to be put on blotter paper in the early 1970s and this gave rise to a specialized art form of decorating the blotter paper. Often the blotter paper was decorated with tiny insignia on each perforated square tab, but by the 1990s this had progressed to complete four color designs often involving an entire page of 900 or more tabs. Mark McCloud is a recognized authority on the history of LSD blotter art.

The fact that LSD blotter art kept evolving over decades shows that the Psychedelic Art movement did not end with the '60s, and if considered more deeply it did not begin in that decade either. The use of drugs by artists is nothing new - the Roman poet Ovid said, "There is no poetry among water drinkers." However, since drugs have always been taboo, the drug use of artists has not always entered the historical record. It was part of the youth rebellion of the 1960s to openly use drugs, but the psychedelic drugs were also seen in a different light from more traditional inebriants such as opiates, cocaine and alcohol. LSD was a new invention that had shown wondrous promise as a psychiatric medicine. It is beyond the scope of this article to describe LSD research and its various results, but importantly to the counterculture movement of the 1960s it had been strongly associated with creativity and had been promoted as a gateway to mystical experience. These aspects drew artists and intellectuals to experiment with LSD and other psychedelic drugs. For other uses, see Ovid (disambiguation) Publius Ovidius Naso (March 20, 43 BC â€“ 17 AD) was a Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid who wrote on topics of love, abandoned women and mythological transformations. ...

Psychedelic Art in Corporate Advertising

By the late 1960s, the commercial potential of psychedelic art had become hard to ignore. General Electric, for instance, promoted clocks with designs by New York artist Peter Max. A caption explains that each of Max’s clocks “transposes time into multi-fantasy colors.”^[4] In this and many other corporate advertisements of the late 1960’s featuring psychedelic themes, the psychedelic product was often kept at arm’s length from the corporate image: while advertisements may have reflected the swirls and colors of an LSD trip, the black-and-white company logo maintained a healthy visual distance. Several companies, however, more explicitly associated themselves with psychedelica: CBS, Neiman Marcus, and NBC all featured thoroughly psychedelic advertisements between 1968 and 1969.^[5] In 1968, Campbell’s soup ran a poster promotion that promised to “Turn your wall souper-delic!”^[6]

The early years of the 1970s saw advertisers using psychedelic art to sell a limitless array of consumer goods. Hair products, cars, cigarettes, and even pantyhose became colorful acts of pseudo-rebellion.^[7] The Chelsea National Bank commissioned a psychedelic landscape by Peter Max, and neon green, pink, and blue monkeys inhabited advertisements for a zoo.^[8] A fantasy land of colorful, swirling, psychedelic bubbles provided the perfect backdrop for a Clearasil ad.^[9] As Brian Wells explains, “The psychedelic movement has, through the work of artists, designers, and writers, achieved an astonishing degree of cultural diffusion… but, though a great deal of diffusion has taken place, so, too, has a great deal of dilution and distortion.”^[10] Even the term “psychedelic” itself underwent a semantic shift, and soon came to mean “anything in youth culture which is colorful, or unusual, or fashionable.”^[11] Puns using the concept of “tripping” abounded: as an advertisement for London Britches declared, their product was “great on trips!”^[12] By the mid-1970’s, the psychedelic art movement had been largely co-opted by mainstream commercial forces, incorporated into the very system of capitalism that the hippies had struggled so hard to change.

Psychedelic Art and the Digital Age

Computer Arts have allowed for an even greater and more profuse expression of psychedelic vision. Fractal generating software gives an accurate depiction of psychedelic hallucinatory patterns, but even more importantly 2D and 3D graphics software allow for unparalleled freedom of image manipulation. Much of the graphics software seems to enable a direct translation of the psychedelic vision. The "digital revolution" was indeed heralded early on as the "New LSD" by none other than Timothy Leary. For the American baseball player use Tim Leary (baseball player) Timothy Francis Leary, (October 22, 1920 â€“ May 31, 1996) was an American writer, psychologist, modern pioneer and advocate of psychedelic drug research and use, and one of the first people whose remains have been sent into space. ...

The Rave movement of the 1990s was a psychedelic renaissance fueled by the advent of newly available digital technologies. The rave movement developed a new graphic art style partially influenced by 1960s psychedelic poster art, but also strongly influenced by graffiti art, and by 1970s advertising art, yet clearly defined by what computer graphics software and home computers had to offer at the time of creation.

Concurrent to the rave movement, and in key respects integral to it, are the development of new mind altering drugs, most notably, MDMA (Ecstasy). Ecstasy, like LSD, has had a tangible influence on culture and aesthetics, particularly the aesthetics of Rave Culture. But MDMA is (arguably) not a real psychedelic, but is described by psychologists as an "empathogen". Development of new psychedelics such as "2CB" and related compounds (developed primarily by chemist Alexander Shulgin) are truly psychedelic, and these novel psychedelics are fertile ground for artistic exploration since many of the new psychedelics possess their own unique properties that will affect the artist's vision accordingly. Land of Psychedelic Illuminations, uploaded with permission from Brian Exton of picturerealm. ... Land of Psychedelic Illuminations, uploaded with permission from Brian Exton of picturerealm. ... ecstasy and religious ecstasy MDMA, most commonly known today by the street name ecstasy, is a synthetic entactogen of the phenethylamine family whose primary effect is to stimulate the brain to rapidly secrete large amounts of serotonin, causing a general sense of openness, empathy, energy, euphoria, and well-being. ... 2C-B is a lesser known psychedelic drug that was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974. ... Alexander and Ann Shulgin, in a photo from their book TiHKAL, c. ...

Perhaps the future of psychedelic art will be defined by those artists who have practiced it most purely. That is to say by those artists who have sought to record the visions derived from the psychedelic drug experience into works of art. Even as fashions have changed, and art and culture movements have come and gone certain artists have steadfastly devoted themselves to psychedelia. Well known examples are Alex Grey and Robert Venosa. These artists have developed unique and distinct styles that while containing elements that are obviously "psychedelic", are clearly artistic expression that transcend simple categorization. While it is not necessary to use psychedelics to arrive at such a stage of artistic development, serious psychedelic artists are demonstrating that there is tangible technique to obtaining visions, and that technique is the creative use of psychedelic drugs. Alex Grey (born November 29, 1953 in Columbus, Ohio) is an artist specializing in spiritual and psychedelic art (or visionary art) that is sometimes associated with the New Age movement. ... Robert Venosa is an Spanish American painter who lives in Boulder, Colorado. ...

Psychedelic Art in Prehistory

Using altered states of consciousness as a source for artistic expression is not a new concept and has been practised throughout human history. Where this art occurs in the past it is often called 'psychedelic art' to conceptually link it to the well-known modern movement. This linkage is contentious and the difficulty in proving the psychedelic origins of prehistoric artwork has led many people to refer to it as entoptic art or subjective visual art. 'Entoptic art' emphasises the fact that evidence for its hallucinatory origins comes mainly from identification of motifs related to entoptic phenomena. Prehistoric entoptic art lacks the range of colours of modern psychedelic art and is often characterised by repeating concentric circles and spirals. Image File history File links The entrance slab to Newgrange tomb, Ireland File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links The entrance slab to Newgrange tomb, Ireland File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Newgrange, Ireland Larger Version Newgrange (Irish Brú na Bóinne), located in County Meath is the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites. ... In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate cultures (prehistory), beginning somewhere in very late geological history. ... For a medical definition please see Entoptic phenomenon In archaeology entoptic phenomena relates to any visual experience derived from within the eye or brain (as oppose to externally, as per normal vision). ...

Psychedelic Artists

Yoshitaka Amano (å¤©é‡Ž å–œå Amano Yoshitaka, originally å¤©é‡Ž å˜‰å (pronounced the same), born July 28, 1952) is a Japanese artist, best known for his illustrations for Vampire Hunter D and for his character designs for the video game series Final Fantasy. ... Pablo Amaringo is an acclaimed Peruvian artist, renowned for his intricate, colourful depictions of his visions from drinking the entheogenic plant brew, ayahuasca. ... Cover of Richard Avedons In the American West photo book. ... Mark Boyle (May 11, 1934 - May 4, 2005) was an artist born in Glasgow and known for his work in the cultural UK Underground of the 1960s around the Traverse Theatre, and latterly in the Boyle Family projects. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Giorgio de Chirico in 1936 photographed by Carl Van Vechten. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Maurits Cornelis Escher (June 17, 1898 â€“ March 27, 1972), usually referred to as M. C. Escher, was a Dutch graphic artist known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints which feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations. ... Neil is a an artist known for his blacklight reactive paintings and hyperdimensional imagery. ... Birth machine This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. ... Richard Alden Griffin (June 18, 1944 - August 18, 1991) was an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters in the 1960s. ... Alex Grey (born November 29, 1953 in Columbus, Ohio) is an artist specializing in spiritual and psychedelic art (or visionary art) that is sometimes associated with the New Age movement. ... John Hurford (born 1948) is a prolific English psychedelic artist who, during the 1960s, quickly became one of the real forces behind the British psychedelic art movement. ... Alton Kelly is an American artist best known for his psychedelic art, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concerts and albums. ... Mati Klarwein (April 9, 1932 â€“ March 7, 2002) was a German painter. ... Invasion of the Night, oil on canvas, 1940, SFMOMA. Roberto Sebastian Matta Echaurren (1911-2002), usually known as Matta, was one of Chiles best-known painters. ... Peter Max (born October 19, 1937 as Peter Finkelstein) is an American Pop artist. ... Stanley Mouse Miller (1940-present) is an American artist best known for his psychedelic art designs for 1960s rock concert posters, as well as Grateful Dead album cover art. ... Joan MirÃ³ photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, June, 1935 Joan MirÃ³ i FerrÃ (April 20, 1893 â€“ December 25, 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramist born in Catalonia, Spain. ... For other persons named James or Jim Morrison, see James Morrison. ... Victor Moscoso is an American illustrator and comic artist, especially noted for his work in the late 1960s as a designer of psychedelic concert posters and a contributor to underground comix (he is among the artists who regularly appear in Zap Comix). ... Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940, Houston, Texas) is an American cartoonist and underground comics artist. ... David Singer, DC, is a chiropractor, a Scientologist, and the founder, in 1981, of the controversial consulting firm now known as David Singer Enterprises. ... Robert Venosa is an Spanish American painter who lives in Boulder, Colorado. ... At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Michael Whelan (born June 29, 1950) is a multiple award winning American artist specializing in science fiction and fantasy illustration. ... Robert Williams is a well-known controversial painter and founder of Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine. ... This article or section needs to be wikified. ... This article should belong in one or more categories. ... Judah (יְהוּדָה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) may refer to: One of the sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob, see Judah (biblical figure) The tribe formed by Judahs offspring, see Tribe of Judah...

References

^ Stevens, Jay. Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1987. Pg. 4
^ Stevens, Jay. Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1987. Pgs. 11-12
^ Stevens, Jay. Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1987. Pg. 12
^ Heimann, Jim. 60's All American Ads. Italy: Taschen, 2002. pg. 523
^ Herdeg, Walter. 68/69 Graphics Annual. Zurich: The Graphics Press, 1968. pgs. 45, 75, 248
^ Heimann, Jim. 60's All American Ads. Italy: Taschen, 2002. pg. 798
^ Heimann, Jim. 70's All American Ads. Italy: Taschen, 2004. pgs. 443, 102, 76, 85, 484.
^ Herdeg, Walter. 71/72 Graphics Annual. Zurich: The Graphics Press, 1971. pgs. 39, 49.
^ Herdeg, Walter. 71/72 Graphics Annual. Zurich: The Graphics Press, 1971. pg. 78.
^ Wells, Brian. Psychedelic Drugs. New York: Jason Aronson, 1974. pg. 19
^ Wells, Brian. Psychedelic Drugs. New York: Jason Aronson, 1974. pgs. 19-20
^ Heimann, Jim. 70’s All-American Ads. Italy: Taschen, 2004. pg. 523

Contents

Features of psychedelic art

Origins

Psychedelic Art in 1960's Counterculture

Psychedelic Art in Corporate Advertising

Psychedelic Art and the Digital Age

Psychedelic Art in Prehistory

Psychedelic Artists

References

See also

External links

Contents

Features of psychedelic art GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Origins

Psychedelic Art in 1960's Counterculture

Psychedelic Art in Corporate Advertising

Psychedelic Art and the Digital Age

Psychedelic Art in Prehistory

Psychedelic Artists

References

See also

External links

Features of psychedelic art