ART 282 - Visual Psychedelia

Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)

The youth oriented counter-culture of the 1960s and early 1970s was defined in part by the ”altered states” induced through hallucinogenic drugs. This phenomenon resulted in a complicated array of new forms of visual culture. We will examine these developments in the art movements (op-art and others), poster art/graphic design, album covers, and cinema associated with the drug culture of LSD. The popular revival and recovery of the work of earlier artists (Bosch, Blake) and artistic trends (art nouveau) that were deemed “visionary” will also be considered. The creative theories of the mind and higher consciousness associated with hallucinogens are examined, from Coleridge, Baudelaire, and Huxley, to Leary, Bateson, and Casteñeda. Brian Lukacher.

Prerequisite(s): ART 106 or permission of the instructor.

Second six-week course.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS