diving into psychadelia

8/13/2019 Diving Into Psychadelia

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Diving into Psychedelia

Davey Fox

GRD 360

History of Graphic Design

12/19/2013


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“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 1960’s 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% 1of 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 find 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

1 “Baby Boomers,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers(accessed Dec 19, 2013).

http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomershttp://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomershttp://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers


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used so prolifically. Though Psychedelic Art has been given many labels, it has been

too flippantly 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 you’re 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 flourished from the 17th to 19th Centuries. Ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating

world,” was characterized by bold, flat 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

2 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

http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/15/ken.johnson.psychedelic.art/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/15/ken.johnson.psychedelic.art/index.htmlhttp://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” (figure 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 defined style, which was later adopted into

the West's burgeoning Art Nouveau movement.3

In Nikolaus Pevsner’s book “Pioneers of Modern Design,” he describes Art

Nouveau’s characteristics as “the long, sensitive curve, reminiscent of the lily’s stem,

an insect’s feeler, the filament of a blossom or occasionally a slender flame, the curve

undulating, flowing and interplaying with others, spouting from corners and covering

asymmetrically all available surfaces.”4 Art Noveau ("New Art") was easily identifiable

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

Berthon’s poster for the book "Sainte Marie de Fleurs," (figure 2) which displays the

same long, flowing 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

3 Meggs, Philip B., Alston W. Purvis, and Philip B. Meggs. 2006. Meggs' history of graphicdesign. Hoboken, N.J.: J. Wiley & Sons.

4 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

first 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 influenced the later Pop Art movement, which in turn

introduced Psychedelic Art to the world. These earlier art movements which

5 Shelly Essay, “What is Dada?” About.com, Art History (2013) http://arthistory.about.com/cs/ arthistory10one/a/dada.htm

http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htmhttp://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htmhttp://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htmhttp://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htmhttp://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htmhttp://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 1960’s and 70’s, hungry for re-defining 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 influenced 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 first

appearances of what we now term as psychedelic visual art. Drug influenced rock

music art had it’s 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 Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.” (figure 3) Popular Bands such as The

Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Je#erson Airplane and Cream admitted to trying

psychedelic drugs. One of the first times that psychedelic forms were seen in music

art was in The Beatles “Rubber Soul” (figure 4) album which featured a warped and


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bulbous logo.6 Many of their songs glorified 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 reflection of the society

to which it belongs? In the same way that Dada art made it’s 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 conflict 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

6 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/

http://cujah.org/past-volumes/volume-iv/volume-iv-essay-3/http://cujah.org/past-volumes/volume-iv/volume-iv-essay-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 figures 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 figure 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 influences 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

7 Bob Mehr, “Art review: Pioneer psychedelic art flourished on posters,” The Commercial Appeal (2008) http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/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 influenced 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 60’s and 70’s 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 Savio’s 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 wheels…upon 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

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 Figure 2Paul Berthon, Sainte marie des fleurs,1897. Katsushika Hokusai, Umegawa in Sagami

Poster laid on canvas, 23.6＂

x 15.2＂

. NY, USA. province, 1826-1823. Woodblock print, 10.1＂

x14.9＂. Art Institute of Chicago. Ill.

Figure 3 Figure 4

Peter Blake,Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Robert Freeman, Charles Front, Rubber Soul,1967. Cardboard Cutouts, Photograph, lifesize. 1965. Photograph.


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Figure 5 Figure 6 Anonymous, The Great Society, 1967, Anonymous, Suppose They Gave a War and

Silkscreen, 40＂x 26＂. Art resource, Nobody Came, 1969, Silkscreen, 24＂x 37＂

CA, Culver City © Center for the Study of Photo Credit, Hakes Americana & Collectibles.

Political Graphics, CA.

“Baby Boomers,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers

(accessed Dec 19, 2013).

Bob Mehr, “Art review: Pioneer psychedelic art flourished 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 graphicdesign. 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/

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://cujah.org/past-volumes/volume-iv/volume-iv-essay-3/http://cujah.org/past-volumes/volume-iv/volume-iv-essay-3/http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htmhttp://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htmhttp://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htmhttp://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htmhttp://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/15/ken.johnson.psychedelic.art/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/15/ken.johnson.psychedelic.art/index.htmlhttp://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/13/art-preview/http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomershttp://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers


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