When I was watching the lecture videos, especially the part
about cocaine and LSD, I was intrigued by Dr. Hoffman and his many experiments
with LSD. In the video, Vesna describes his “trip” as seeing “unprecedented
colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind [his] closed eyes.
Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged on [him] alternating, opening, and
closing themselves in circles.” Although the images shown in the lecture videos
were colorful and very artsy, I did not see how the use of these drugs contributes
to art. Further researching this topic on my own, I was surprised to find
countless artists have experimented with the effect of LSD on their work. For
example, an artist drew self-portraits over the course of 9 hours while on 200
micrograms of LSD, which is 8 times the dose that Vesna considered “enough”.
The picture on the left is her drawing after 15 minutes, and the one on the
right is after 6 hours and 45 minutes.
LSD changed this person’s perspectives by allowing her to
see the world that is full of colors. In a way, through the use of LSD, she was
able to view life itself as art.
Upon further research, I was shocked to find that many
famous people have also experimented with these drugs. One that stood out to me
was Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs is the founder of Apple, who is credited for
creating many of the aesthetically pleasing products such as iPhones. The use
of LSD allowed him to see the importance in creating beautiful products over
making money. He also claimed that LSD “was a profound experience, one of the
most important thing in [his] life.” (Shelton).
Other famous LSD-users include Bill Gates, Jimi Hendrix,
Jack Nicholson, and Susan Sarandon. For these people, LSD was a great
inspiration that introduced them to new heights of originality and
productivity. Without these drugs, it is a possibility that some of the music,
movies, and technology that we all enjoy so much would not exist today. It is
truly amazing how some of these artistic and scientific inspirations were
conveyed through the states of altered consciousness.
References:
"Artist Used LSD And Drew Herself For 9 Hours To Show How It Affects
Brain." Bored Panda. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017.
"Celebs Who Owe Their Careers to Psychedelics." Ranker. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 20 May 2017.
Price, Rob. "Here's What It Was Like To Take LSD With Steve
Jobs." Business Insider. Business Insider, 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 20 May 2017.
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience and Art Part 3." Lecture.
“8 Times Breaking the Law Created Positive Change.” Liberty Viral. N.p., 90 Aug. 2016. Web. 20 May 2017.
I like how in your blog you admitted how your thoughts about mind-altering drugs changed after further research. Drugs are a very taboo topic that many people don't want to address, and I think the fact that you can talk positively about them is very brave. I think it is important to recognize the role they played in culture at the time, and the artistic, technological, and scientific progress they played a role in. By ignoring these effects we are doing our cultural history a disservice, and it's important to point to the many prominent members of our society who used them, which I was shocked to learn in your blog--like Steve Jobs for example.
ReplyDeleteThis blog ws really interesting to me. I had no idea about how LSD does change how an artist "sees" things. I really liked the paintings / drawings done by Dr Hoffman and it was really interesting to see how different the two drawings produced were effected by LSD. I also really liked how you said "without these drugs, it is a possibility that some of the music, movies, and technology that we all enjoy so much would not exist today". It is really interesting to think that way and to think that LSD does have a huge effect on art and technology these days. From your blog I understood that LSD has also enhanced the humans capabilities of imagination. I also had no idea that Steve Jobs experimented with LSD. Its amazing to see that people in "power" roles have also given it a try to improve their work and widen their mindset.
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog was very interesting because I had no clue about LSD before this week's topic and it was shocking to see how many powerful people used it for their work. These drugs make the brain work in ways that I never imagines and a lot of the things we enjoy today were made from people who used drugs.
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