Diving into Psychedelia

Davey Fox GRD 360 History of Graphic Design 12/19/2013

There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes

you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! ! These immortal words, spoken by the 1960s orator and political activist Mario

Savio, encapsulate an era of revolt. Savio was one youth among many in a time of tumultuous change and social upheaval in American history. The Sexual Revolution, Feminism, Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War and nuclear proliferation were looming giants that cast long shadows over society which we feel the tension from even today. There were concerns about the environment, economic justice, and sexual freedom. Traditions were openly questioned and drug use was becoming more prevalent and pervasive. The Baby Boomers were coming of age, and with 40% 1 of the population comprising young adults questioning social norms and conventions, the valued institutions of tradition, family, capitalism, and the American Dream itself were revealed to be more fragile than anyone could imagine. The era of revolt was the inevitable result when establishments in government and religion were not listening to the earnest questions of people desperate to nd answers. Many youth set out to answer their questions for themselves rather than wait, and their alternative lifestyles, thoughts, and feelings found a avenue of expression in art and music. ! It is in this context that a new art form emerged: Psychedelic Art, named after

the mind altering drugs that inspired the amorphous forms and bright colors that it

Baby Boomers, The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers (accessed Dec 19, 2013).
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used so prolically. Though Psychedelic Art has been given many labels, it has been too ippantly dismissed as the product of a time many would rather forget. As one unnamed art historian was quoted as saying, psychedelic art is good if youre on psychedelics,2 it is thought the book is closed on the matter. Countercultural, sensuous, unstable, revolutionary -- label it what you will, but the questions Psychedelic Art sought to answer remain, and the tension and tumult it expressed persist. The Occupy Movement, social justice, modern liberalism, and the culture wars are all new fronts of the same concerns Savio so eloquently spoke about. History tends to repeat itself, and precisely because time is cyclical, we ought to press to understand our past and not avoid it. Instead of being viewed and understood as only a part of a counter cultural movement, psychedelic images can be seen as a manifestation of what happens when prostest meets art, and can encourage society to invite questions rather than repress them. Instead of ascribing Psychedelic Art as nonsense, we can learn from the history of the drug-infused movement and it's art so as to make a better future, not repeating the same errors. ! The stylistic origins of Psychedelic Art can be traced to Japan and a technique

which ourished from the 17th to 19th Centuries. Ukiyo-e, or pictures of the oating world, was characterized by bold, at lines with shapes composed of single colors. This was in contrast to the Western world's traditional preference of graduated use of color. Well known creators of this art form included Kitagawa Utamaro, referred to as

Emanuella Grinberg and CNN, How the drugs of the 60s changed art, CNN Living 07 (2011): 15, http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/15/ken.johnson.psychedelic.art/index.html
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the supreme poet of the Japanese print, and Katsushika Hokusai, who produced around 35,000 pieces of art in the span of seven decades. Hokusai's most famous work is a collection called Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (gure 1) created in the 1820's. These art pieces were made using techniques such as screen printing and woodblock printing, which Japanese artists would create alone. These artists popularized the making of prints in this dened style, which was later adopted into the West's burgeoning Art Nouveau movement.3 ! In Nikolaus Pevsners book Pioneers of Modern Design, he describes Art

Nouveaus characteristics as the long, sensitive curve, reminiscent of the lilys stem, an insects feeler, the lament of a blossom or occasionally a slender ame, the curve undulating, owing and interplaying with others, spouting from corners and covering asymmetrically all available surfaces.4 Art Noveau ("New Art") was easily identiable by its curvilinear shapes and was a prelude to the same features that would be later found in Psychedelic Art. For example, there is a striking similarity in Paul Emile Berthons poster for the book "Sainte Marie de Fleurs," (gure 2) which displays the same long, owing hair and simple dress that hippie sun children would have 100 years later. " Art Noveau, with its distinctive harmonizing of nature and mankind that

seemed to "grow," can represent the visual seeds of the later Hippie and Psychedelic

Meggs, Philip B., Alston W. Purvis, and Philip B. Meggs. 2006. Meggs' history of graphic design. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley & Sons.
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Pevsner, Nikolaus. 2005. Pioneers of modern design: from William Morris to Walter Gropius. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.
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movements. There was a desire in the Sixties to return to simplicity, to nature, the same way we now are trading our MP3s for vinyl records, and long for something more tangible and authentic when we pick back up "vintage" fashion styles. The sterility of the prepackaged and processed life is in sharp contrast to the unpredictable and asymmetrical natural world, which Art Noveau depicts beautifully. Art Noveau and Ukiyo-e represented a form of history that seemed more genuine and real than the traditions of Western society, and so it is understandable that art forms which embraced the natural world would themselves be embraced by people returning to their roots. ! Other contributing movements to the Psychedelic include the Dada Movement

of the early Twentieth Century. This art form was a reaction to the devastation of World War I in Europe and associated with the radical left and a rejection of reason.5 With the horrors of battle in their front yards, artists of war-torn European countries used art as a form of protest against a society that would allow war to happen in the rst place, and it was that "reason" they visually depicted a skepticism of. Dada was popular because it was a repudiation of accepted forms of art which were production of old traditions and a seemingly cannibalistic society intent on self-destruction. Through its rejection of conventional attitudes (anti-bourgeois) and its anti-war stance, this "protest art" heavily inuenced the later Pop Art movement, which in turn introduced Psychedelic Art to the world. These earlier art movements which

Shelly Essay, What is Dada? About.com, Art History (2013) http://arthistory.about.com/cs/ arthistory10one/a/dada.htm
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hearkened back to simpler times (Ukiyo-e), pastoral themes (Art Noveau), and rebellion towards destruction (Dada) were the perfect soils that produced a simple, back-to-nature movement that embraced life, love, and happiness. The disa#ected and disillusioned youth of the 1960s and 70s, hungry for re-dening a world they believed they "can't even passively take part, were on a collision course that was literally centuries in the making. What resulted is the freedom of expression, feast of the eyes, and cornucopia of color which became Psychedelic Art. ! ! All these previous movements and patterns inuenced the Psychedelic

artists, but it is still a well known and accepted fact that psychedelia was promoted through the use of drugs. Surprisingly though, psychedelic art did not begin in a visual form. Aldous Huxley, Antonin Artaud, and Henri Michaux wrote of their experiences while taking drugs in books such as Journey to the Land of the Tarahumara, and Miserable Miracle. Music Album Art marked some of the rst appearances of what we now term as psychedelic visual art. Drug inuenced rock music art had its most popular emergence between the years 1966 and 1972. The artists of these visual works were based mainly in San Francisco. Big name creators at the time were Victor Moscoso, Alton Kelley, Rick Gri$n, and Wes Wilson. One of the most well known albums that is unashamedly drug inspired is The Beatles, Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. (gure 3) Popular Bands such as The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Je#erson Airplane and Cream admitted to trying psychedelic drugs. One of the rst times that psychedelic forms were seen in music art was in The Beatles Rubber Soul (gure 4) album which featured a warped and

bulbous logo.6 Many of their songs gloried either the experience of tripping out, or the general attitude of rebellion and self expression. Rock music itself pushed the limits of what was formerly acceptable with hard driving beats, illicit lyrics, and synthesized swirling sounds. Light shows often accompanied these bands, further exploring the quest to completely disorient the senses.The popularity of these bands only helped to spread the desire of nonconformity, and sometimes purposefully promoted the drug culture. ! Understanding the use of drugs in forming this art is important, however, it

should not be considered the one and only inspirational force for the emergence of this aesthetic. The question that must be asked is whether art is something that can be a catalyst for change in society, or whether it is merely a reection of the society to which it belongs? In the same way that Dada art made its debut in Europe during World War I, psychedelically themed art was used during the threat of nuclear warfare, and war in Vietnam. The young people of these times wanted answers to their questions, and wanted to know why conict exists, why not everybody has equal rights, and why strict and rigid traditions should be followed. These concerns were not answered by the dysfunctional homes of their youth, and a controlling government was unable to e#ectively give answers either. Accepted religion and Christianity became distasteful through association to an unhealthy society. In an e#ort to distance themselves from their parents and culture, youth of the times

Silvia Sorbelli, Psychedelic Art & Kitsch: A Case Study, Concordia Undergraduate Journal of Art History 4: 3, http://cujah.org/past-volumes/volume-iv/volume-iv-essay-3/
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explored Eastern Mysticism and perception altering drugs to escape the world through enlightenment and a new sense of spirituality. ! The distaste for structure and organization is most clearly seen in the

psychedelic art used to protest against and disarm political gures and ideas. Peace and love were promoted by the hippies and free thinkers in direct opposition to the seemingly uncaring and war hungry government. The poster entitled The Great Society, (Figure 5) portrays Lyndon B. Johnson as a Mephistophelean character diabolically looking out over an ominous American landscape littered with riots and racial strife. Even darker and more controversial is the uncredited Suppose They Gave a War and No One Came. (Figure 6) This poster features a lone gure looking out across a burning globe with a warped undulating sky above. The work shows not only the inability of man to control the world, but also the madness of nuclear war one in which there are neither combatants nor survivors.7 These images publish not only a distaste for war and injustice, but the style itself exhibits the sentiment and passion of the psychedelic movement. ! People may reject the style or the artistic and drug inuences of psychedelic

art, but to reject the movement entirely will only cause more rebellion. Psychedelic artists utilized a style that was extreme, eye catching, and sometimes obnoxious, but the question must be asked as to why they felt that they must use such controversial images. It was because art is a form of expression. Art can permanently showcase a

Bob Mehr, Art review: Pioneer psychedelic art ourished on posters, The Commercial Appeal (2008) http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/
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message that a mere life may not be able to. Yes, drugs inuenced the warped and curvilinear forms of the art, and yes, rock and roll was a huge vehicle for presenting this artform, but behind it all there is a passionate question, and a bold revolution. Just like the Dada movement and the Art Nouveau period, Psychedelic art strove to push and break cultural barriers, and open the eyes of American citizens to the inconsitency of societal values. The artists of the 60s and 70s began a movement that exists still today and goes beyond just tie-die, bellbottom pants and long haired men. They began a movement that questions what is accepted as normal, and challenges what is wrong, opening the avenues for more freedom of expression in art and even life. ! Finishing Mario Savios famous speech given in 1964, the passion of rebellion

against injustice is stated eloquently. There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheelsupon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!8

Eidenmuller, Michael E. 2008. Great speeches for better speaking: listen and learn from history's most memorable speeches. New York: McGraw-Hill.
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Figure 1 " "

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Paul Berthon, Sainte marie des eurs,1897. " Poster laid on canvas, 23.6x 15.2. NY, USA.!! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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Figure 2

Katsushika Hokusai, Umegawa in Sagami province, 1826-1823. Woodblock print, 10.1x 14.9. Art Institute of Chicago. Ill.

" " Figure 3 " " " " Peter Blake,Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, ! 1967. Cardboard Cutouts, Photograph, lifesize. ! ! "

" " Figure 4" Robert Freeman, Charles Front, Rubber Soul, 1965. Photograph.

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Figure 6

Anonymous, The Great Society, 1967, " " Silkscreen, 40x 26. Art resource, ! ! CA, Culver City Center for the Study of ! Political Graphics, CA.

Anonymous, Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came, 1969, Silkscreen, 24x 37 Photo Credit, Hakes Americana & Collectibles.

Baby Boomers, The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers (accessed Dec 19, 2013). Bob Mehr, Art review: Pioneer psychedelic art ourished on posters, The Commercial Appeal (2008) http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/ Eidenmuller, Michael E. 2008. Great speeches for better speaking: listen and learn from history's most memorable speeches. New York: McGraw-Hill. Emanuella Grinberg and CNN, How the drugs of the 60s changed art, CNN Living 07 (2011): 15, http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/15/ken.johnson.psychedelic.art/index.html Meggs, Philip B., Alston W. Purvis, and Philip B. Meggs. 2006. Meggs' history of graphic design. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley & Sons. Pevsner, Nikolaus. 2005. Pioneers of modern design: from William Morris to Walter Gropius. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. Shelly Essay, What is Dada? About.com, Art History (2013) http://arthistory.about.com/cs/ arthistory10one/a/dada.htm Silvia Sorbelli, Psychedelic Art & Kitsch: A Case Study, Concordia Undergraduate Journal of Art History 4: 3, http://cujah.org/past-volumes/volume-iv/volume-iv-essay-3/