Art of the 1960's

A great deal of the art that was a product of the 1960s was influenced by psychedelic experiences. As psychedelics became more potent and more widely available, more artists began to experiment. Up until the early 1970s, some psychedelics were sold in health food stores (Snyder, 1986). Art became alive with color, religiousness, pantheism, cosmic dances, momentum, and growth and renewal. The artists were children of the age of psychochemistry. Psychedelic research of the 1930s had been carried out and published. Substantial literature existed sparking the interest of many (Furst, 1986).

Many critics judge psychedelic art as decorative but argue it has no point (Masters and Houston, 1968). The upsurge of psychedelic art in the 1960s, even though great, failed to be recognized as did its sister surrealism. Yet, critics cannot deny that the psychedelic era of the 1960s did introduce a psychedelic sensibility into art (1968).

Ernest Fuchs Dancer in Zebra costume 1955: Good example of body distortion along with hallucinogenic detail and religious/mysterious undertones. (Masters and Houston, 1968)

Bernard Saby Untitled: Great example of distortion and contortion of the hallucinogenic experience.                             (Masters and Houston, 1968)

Mati Klarwein A Grain of Sand: Intricacies and hallucinogenic detail. Irony of title possibly referring to how hallucinogens open our minds, the grain of sand. (Masters and Houston, 1968)

Yando (1971-1974) after a hallucinatory experience: The vastness of the mind-expanding. (Siegal and West, 1975)

Isaac Abrams Flying Leap (1966) and LSD-induced imagery. (Siegal and West, 1975)

Paul Ortloff Inhalation and Exhalation: Vivid colors and distorted visions. (Masters and Houston, 1968)

Frederic Padro Untitled: Fantasy and merging of different images. (Masters and Houston, 1968)

Wirsum Screamin’ J. Hawkins (1967): Vivid colors and distorted figure. (Adams, 1979)

Magic Eye 3D image: Some psychedelic artists claim they could see images coming out of patterns just as in this picture of  two deer. (Morris and Dorman, 1994).

Salvador Dali Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by Her Own Chastity (1954). There is some similarity between surrealism like that of Dali and psychedelic art. Warped preception and symbolism. Many individuals report that LSD sessions helped them gain deeper insight into the world of other painters such as Van Gogh, Matisse, Seurat and many others. (Masters and Houston, 1968)