The Influence of Psychedelics and Hallucinogens on modern Art

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The Influence of Psychedelics and Hallucinogens
on modern Art

• By Jordan Wittig

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Outline

• Brief description of Marijuana and LSD
• Psychedelic art
• Commonalities within the art
• Psychedelic Artists and their work

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Marijuana

• Marijuana is a psychedelic drug that is obtained
  from Cannabis sativa
• The active chemical that causes the psychedelic
  effects is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)
• The main psychedelic effects of marijuana are
  altered perception of time/space, altered
  perception of all 5 senses and feelings of
  euphoria

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LSD

• LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) is a
  semi-synthetic drug derived from ergot
• The main effect of LSD are expansion and altered
  experiences of senses, emotion, time and
  awareness, illusions and day-dream like
  fantasies, visual effects and a sense of
  separation from reality

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Psychedelic Art

• Psychedelic art is art that is influenced by the
  visual distortions experienced by the artist
  while on a psychedelic drug such as marijuana or
  LSD
• The art work is not necessarily produced while
  the artist is under the influence of the drug

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Commonalities in the Art

• Psychedelic art tends to be very intricate,
  unusual, complex, brightly coloured,
  geometrically organized and full of some
  underlying meaning
• Sex and death are common themes portrayed
• Most of the paintings draw their inspiration from
  some unconscious, dream-like state or visual
  distortions the artist experienced

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Psychedelic artists

• H.R. Giger is the master of catching the bad
  trip
• His paintings are very dark and organized and are
  usually compared to a nightmare
• He designed the sets and creatures from the
  original Alien movie

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H.R. Giger Paintings
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Robert Williams

• Williams is best known for his underground comic
  book art that he contributed to Zap Comix in the
  late 60s
• Zap Comix
• He also produces paintings that are dark and
  resemble nightmares or bad trips
• When he was asked if psychedelics have influenced
  his work he replied, Tremendously... they opened
  up the world of color and shape, and put an
  emphasis on things that were really not paid
  attention to before."

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Robert Williams
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Robert Williams
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Alex Grey

• Alex Grey has been highly influenced by LSD
• His paintings entitled Sacred Mirrors were
  inspired by a psychedelic vision he shared with
  his wife and he describes it as an experience of
  the Universal Mind Lattice
• Many of his paintings portray people doing
  everyday activities with transparent skin and
  metaphysical energy radiating from their bodies
  as auras or chakras
• He paints people the way they appear at the peak
  of his acid trip

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Alex Grey
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Alex Grey
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Alex Grey
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Alex Grey
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Brummbaer

• Brummbaer is a computer graphics artist who is
  best known for his work in the digitally animated
  movie Johnny Mnemonic
• He is a pioneer in the world of digital animation
  and has an unmistakeable hallucinogenic style
• He uses interlocking tubular networks and
  hypermorphic polydimensional objects to create
  intricat, colourful works of art
• He describes his computer screen as a window that
  allows him to see into other worlds, and all he
  does is polish the screen so other can see it

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Brummbaer
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Brummbaer
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References

• Brown, David J. Psychedelic Art
  http//users.lycaeum.org/maverick/psychede.htm
• http//www.alexgrey.com/
• www.brummbaer.net/
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Williams_(arti
  st)

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