BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHEDELICS AND LIBERATION? INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2 – MAIN BODY 1: Context & Themes This first chapter aims to contextualise this research project, providing the foundation of historical critical knowledge for accurate assessment of the relationship between psychedelic substances and liberation, positioning the research during a memorable and recognisable period in western social history - known as the 1960’s counterculture era. Common association with psychedelics, their arrival into mainstream western culture, contrasting political and social ideologies fuelling significant and momentous events that take place as a result will be examined, along with the explanation of key terminology. Psychedelic – Key Terminology & Origin "To make this mundane world sublime. Take half a gram of phanerothyme. To sink in Hell or soar angelic. You'll need a pinch of psychedelic.” - Aldous Huxley & Humphry Osmond (Horowitz & Palmer, 1977, p. 107) The term psychedelic is “derived from the Ancient Greek words psyche…‘soul’ and dēloun…‘to make visible, to reveal’…translating to ‘mind-revealing’" and is used to classify a specific group of psychoactive drugs, mainly plant based, “whose primary action is to alter cognition and perception.” The most well-known of these plant substances considered to be psychedelics include “LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline and DMT, while drugs such as cannabis and MDMA are also sometimes considered psychedelics” (Wikipedia, 2016). Psychedelic was first coined by psychiatrist Humphry Osmond in 1956 during correspondence with close friend and influential literary figure Aldous Huxley. Both Osmond and Huxley, whose careers would “play a prominent role in the popularisation of hallucinogenic [psychedelic] drugs and mescaline in particular,” thought it important to come up with a term which best describes their unique effects (Miller, 2014, p. 59). In 1957, Osmond went on to publicise the term and writes in the Annals of the New York Sciences: “I have tried to find an appropriate name for the agents under discussion…a name that will include the concepts of enriching the mind and enlarging the vision. . . My choice, because it is clear, euphonious, and uncontaminated by other associations, is psychedelic, mind-manifesting” (Shorter, 2005, p. 123). A psychedelic experience, therefore, is considered to be a “temporary altered state of consciousness induced by the consumption of psychedelic drugs” (Wikipedia, 2016).
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
• Note: Possibly speak about other derivatives/explanations of terms here? Hallucinogenic? - for the purpose of the above quote about Osmond and Huxley. The origins of this term psychedelic not only proves important by way of accurately describing a specific classification of primarily plant based psychoactive substances with extraordinary neurological effects, but interestingly the conceiving of the term coincides with the moment these mind-altering substances made their first major appearance into modern western society - first in psychiatric circles, then quickly into the hands of the public, paving the way for a cultural revolution, which is where this research begins. The Makings of a Counterculture Revolution In 1938, “while investigating the chemical and pharmacological properties of ergot, a rye fungus,” Dr Albert Hoffman (fig.1), a scientist from Switzerland “first synthesized LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)” (Lee, 1992, p. xvii). The purpose of the initial investigation was to prepare a “circulatory and respiratory simulant” (Horowitz, 1976), however after carrying out numerous animal studies, the results were overall nondescript and subsequently “Work on LSD then fell into abeyance for a number of years” (Ayd,Jr. & Blackwell, 1970). It wasn’t until 5 years later in 1943 that Hoffman, who “had the feeling that it would be worthwhile to carry out more profound studies with this compound” (Ayd,Jr. & Blackwell, 1970), decided to revisit LSD and it was during these experiments that the first known LSD psychedelic experience or ‘trip’ was endured - by Hoffman, who “accidentally absorbed a small dose through his fingertips.” Hoffman describes his experience as being overcome by “a remarkable but not unpleasant state of intoxication…characterized by an intense stimulation of the imagination and an altered state of awareness of the world” (Lee, 1992, p. xviii). The initial effects were understandably terrifying for Hoffman who had not anticipated the experience, having first thought he had fatefully poisoned himself with the compound. However, the LSD induced visions also proved to take on a beautiful nature, for “the world had transformed entirely, dissolving into a flux of kaleidoscope spirals and fountains” (Jay, 2010, p. 103). This key event in history changed the world of psychiatry, drawing LSD as well as other psychedelic substances (previously noted) to the attention of western scientists, psychologists and psychotherapists worldwide who saw potential in the unique neurological effects they could inhibit in the human brain. A previous study into Mescaline - the psychoactive chemical found in the Mexican peyote cacti, had been investigated in psychiatric circles by German pharmacologist Dr Louis Lewin in 1888, and was the first “hallucinogen [psychedelic] available as a chemically pure compound.” Despite this early research into psychoactive plants however, “interest in the hallucinogenic research faded” and it wasn’t until Hoffman’s discovery of LSD, “which is about 5,000 to 10,000 times more active than mescaline,” that interest in this line of research began to “receive a new impetus” (Horowitz, 1976).
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
Continued human trials throughout the 1950’s carried out by Hoffman and psychiatrists such as Humphry Osmond, (who helped coin the term psychedelic after his experiences with the substance) suggested how LSD could be used as a treatment for mental illness and alcohol addiction as well as “a creativity enhancer and learning stimulant” (Horowitz, 1976). Interestingly, yet rather confusingly, these tests also showed signs of LSD acting as a psychomimetic, with many of the effects after ingestion mimicking the state of psychosis commonly experienced in schizophrenic patients. These early findings elude to the confusion surrounding the positive and negative effects of these substances, this essence of uncertainty forming much of the underpinning theme visited throughout this paper. The intrigue surrounding these unique effects throughout the global medical profession during the late 1950’s, lead to widespread distribution of the psychedelic LSD with the purpose of advancements in psychiatric research in the years to follow. The boundaries of medical science however could not contain such a profound substance, with many of the researchers and psychiatrists – seduced by the temporary, yet undeniably mystical mindaltering effects - partaking in LSD recreationally. This quickly caught the eye of the government, who also aided in the widespread distribution by carrying out public medical trials of their own as well as top secret trials such as MK–ULTRA, “the ClA's major drug and mind control program during the Cold War.” The purpose of the tests carried out on a large majority of unsuspecting victims in society, in hospitals, mental institutions and the military, was to “figure out how to employ LSD in espionage operations” (Lee, 1992, p. 27). It is considered “highly ironic that secret experiments by the US government into psychological warfare and the repressive manipulation of human behaviour resulted in the most influential countercultural movement of the century” (Grunenberg, 2005, p. 14). The boom in medical research and growing recreational use, as well as wide spread public medical tests put LSD within reach of influential intellectuals such as Aldous Huxley (Brave New World, Island), Timothy Leary (The Psychedelic Experience) and Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), who would go on to aid the psychedelic emergence into the mainstream, popularize the freedom of use and prove to have a big impact within the 1960’s counterculture movement as true mystics and psychedelic gurus/advocates. •
Note: Describe the social / political / economic climate during America during this time.
The necessity / need for change and the desire for liberation in youth culture, underpinned by the turbulent US political and economic climate of the 1960’s, “amplified by the widespread use of LSD and other hallucinogens” motivated rebellion against the US establishment, and spurred the counterculture youth revolution into action (Lee, 1992, p. 217).
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
The attempts at achieving liberation however, would primarily shape 2 subgroups/movements during this period, The New Left movement and the Hippie movement, both with very different approaches to achieving the drastic reform in which the counterculture period is recognised. These youth movements essentially had similar overarching values due to the unavoidable events taking place in the America and internationally at the time. The New Left activists and Hippies “represented two poles of the radical experience [but] both shared a contempt for middle-class values, a disdain for authority, and a passion for expression” (Lee, 1992, p. 133). The two movements often crossed paths / cross-pollinated during public strikes and memorable protests in order to achieve the same bigger goals that effected everyone, such as peace and the withdrawal of troops from the Vietnam war, “women’s liberation, gay rights, and multiculturalism” (McMillian, 2008, p. 2). However, it is important for this research to delve deeper into the varying ideals which formed the youth counterculture and present/evaluate/compare the two movements/groups as they truly were – drastically different in their approach at striving for economic and political change, liberation from the capitalist consumer society at present and the role psychedelics played in their approach. The New Left movement The New Left in the America, mainly consisting of students, educators and academics, formed a highly organised social activist, Left-wing political movement that rapidly emerged and expanded at the beginning of the 1960’s, promoting “participatory democracy, crusaded for civil rights and various types of university reforms, and protested against the Vietnam War” (McMillian, 2008, p. 5). The New Left formed the political face of the counterculture movement, often considered radical and anarchist in nature, much of the basis and value behind the group founded in Marxist ideology. To better understand and therefore analyse the revolutionary ideologies and values underpinning the New Left movement, it is important first to consider social scientist / philosopher Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) and his social political critique of capitalism, particularly that outlined in Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Communist Manifesto), written by himself and Frederick Engles in 1847. "Society as a whole is more and more splitting into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat" (Marx & Engels, 1969, p. 15).
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
Marx and Engles first chapter within the Communist Manifesto explains distinctively the emerging “simplified class” system: a result of increased polarisation of wealth between the ‘lower class’, propertyless workers and the “Bourgeoisie” capitalist, ‘upper class’ property owners, within an industrial society in the advanced stages of revolutionary modes of production and exchange (Marx & Engels, 1969, p. 15). "It [the bourgeoisie] is unfit to rule because it is incompetent to assure an existence to its slave within his slavery, because it cannot help letting him sink into such a state, that it has to feed him, instead of being fed by him” (Marx & Engels, 1969, p. 21). This suggests due to the increase in class division where the workers become poorer and the owners become wealthier, the bourgeoisie will eventually no longer be able to sustain itself or continue in its exploitation within the economic social structure. Reliant on the workers, modes of production and exchange in order to advance as the upper bourgeoisie elite, the divide between the upper and lower classes will inevitably lead to friction and hostility, resulting in workers no longer accepting their ‘lower class’ position, therefore refusing to appease and continue to work for the capitalist. "What the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces, above all, is its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable" (Marx & Engels, 1969, p. 21). Marx & Engles’ capitalist critique is a valid model, a theoretical framework true of a capitalist society, such as that present in the advanced industrial western society during 1960’s America. There is however an undeniable flaw and that lies not within this capitalist critique, but in the theory of inevitable revolution against capitalism and social transformation. “Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries unite!” (Marx & Engels, 1969, p. 34) Marx wanted a revolution of class, for “in the struggles and rebellions of workers, he could see evidence of an emerging conscious social force that would ultimately overthrow the society which produced it” (Langston, 2009). He believed in his theory with Engels that the increase of class division within a capitalist society would cause the contradictions and exploitation of the bourgeoisie to become exposed, enabling the workers to achieve class consciousness, that is the realisation of their exploited economic position within industrial society, in direct contrast to that of the Bourgeoisie. This consciousness and mass realisation allows the Proletariat to emerge, resulting in the want and strive for social and economic change, the inevitable future revolution which abolishes capitalism making way for the rise of socialism and equality, such as communism. Thus, achieving social justice, emancipation, liberation from capitalism.
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
History however has shown us that Marx’s prediction of a socialist revolution against capitalism fails to happen particularly in western culture, despite economic division between classes continuing to increase within advanced industrial societies such as in the UK and America. This has “in part led to what has been called the crisis of Marxism” and has caused many philosophers and social political theorists to evaluate / re-examine Marx’s theories, to question why this model for change never came to be, why capitalism remains so prominent despite the exploitation of the working class that fuels it, in an attempt to provide a theoretical solution (Farr, 2013). Herbert Marcuse (1898 – 1979, fig. 2), a “German Jewish philosopher, sociologist and political theorist”, had the same desire for answers and evaluation of classical Marxism, involving him with the Frankfurt School in Germany, established in 1922 (Marcuse, 1971, p. 4). Here philosophers sought solutions, known as critical theory, by attempting to synthesise alternate disciplines and schools of thought including that of Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939), who’s psychoanalytical theories at the time were extremely popular. This infusion of Freud psychology into classical Marxist theory helped to create a more humanistic personality within the Frankfurt School and the theories of Marxists who evolved from it. The most prominent of these theories as to why capitalism has never given way to socialism, is that the problem lies in class consciousness. As previously discussed, Marx suggests that in order for the proletariat (working class) to want for change, they must first be aware of their exploited situation in order to act and revolt. Marcuse is particularly relevant to this discussion, as many of his key theories became prominent at the beginning of the counterculture movement and student revolution in 1960’s America, with undeniable impact specifically on that of the New Left movement who celebrated him as the “Father of the New Left” (Marcuse, 1971, p. 4). At the beginning of the decade, Marcuse, occupied with exploring Marx’s theories and understanding the reason for lack of class consciousness and social revolution within capitalism, writes One-Dimensional Man which is then published in 1964 “during the heroic period of the New Left” (Kellner, 2005, p. 11). This thesis explains: “The distinguishing feature of advanced industrial society is its effective suffocation of those needs which demand liberation—liberation also from that which is tolerable and rewarding and comfortable—while it sustains and absolves the destructive power and repressive function of the affluent society” (Marcuse, 2002, p. 9). Here Marcuse theorises that the reason for lack of class consciousness of the worker within a capitalist society, is that capitalism itself evolves and develops advanced means of persuasion and exploitation. The rewards presented through consumerism and commodity fetishism – help to cloud the consciousness of the working class as well as the class divide, convincing them that they are in fact comfortable, fulfilled and in no need of emancipation / liberation.
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
Thus, the worker is blind to their - class consciousness and their lower - position in economic society, which, as outlined by Marx, is the fundamental element needed for revolution and the overthrow of capitalism. Marcuse’s theory is important for it provides a convincing explanation as to why Marx’s prediction of social revolution and overthrow of capitalism never came to be. - Marx’s did not anticipate the evolutionary nature of capitalism, therefore his theory cannot be applied to an advanced capitalist society where the class consciousness is further and more convincingly suppressed. Marcuse describes how the class consciousness needed for Marx’s social transformation and revolution ultimately resides in the negative, two-dimensional thinking, critical of the social contradictions therefore aware of exploitation which leads to a demand for social change. Capitalism in an advanced industrial society however, creates one-dimensional thinking. That is that the worker, who feels content within society due to the refined exploitive power of capitalism “does not demand change nor does it recognize the degree to which the individual is a victim of forces of domination in society” (Farr, 2013). Marcuse’s One-Dimensional Man is in fact a pessimistic view when considering “fundamental political change” in an advanced industrial society, such as in 1960’s America. His aim is to clarify the problem with Marx’s theory by applying it to the present period, he does not however provide a solution to the social problem, for within an advanced industrial society, Marcuse presupposes “that the working class is no longer a revolutionary force” (Langston, 2009). Liberation cannot be achieved in a capitalist society where class consciousness is suppressed and one-dimensional thought resides. This work however does prove important as it “helped to show a generation of political radicals what was wrong with the system they were struggling against, and thus played an important role in the student movement” (Kellner, 2005, p. 11). After One-Dimensional Man, Marcuse’s pessimistic outlook changes due to the radical student, anti-war and civil rights movements emerging globally (Kellner, 2005, p. 6). He saw that despite the presence of one-dimensional thought in society, revolution and the strive for change was happening. “The hope for revolution lay within individuals who in there very being have grown weary with their own repression. The student movements of the 60s was not based on class struggle, but rather, a rejection of their own repression as well as a growing lack of tolerance for war and waste” (Farr, 2013). With new found faith in social revolution restored, Marcuse proposes a new theory, a precurser for liberation, a transformation which then leads to revolution and emancipation, a theory that looks outside of the economic class division leading to social revolution and need for “new power relations” outlined in classic Marx theory (Farr, 2013).
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
At The Dialectics of Liberation conference held in London in 1967, Marcuse delivers a lecture entitled Liberation from an Affluent Society, where he puts forward his new theory of sensibility: “with sensitivity and sensibility, creative imagination and play, [become] forces of transformation…for example, the total reconstruction of our cities and of the countryside; the restoration of nature after the elimination of the violence and destruction of capitalist industrialization; the creation of internal and external space for privacy, individual autonomy, tranquillity; the elimination of noise, of captive audiences, of enforced togetherness, of pollution, of ugliness...these are organic needs for the human organism, and that their arrest, their perversion and destruction by capitalist society, actually mutilates the human organism, not only in a figurative way but in a very real and literal sense” (Marcuse, 2010). In this passage and throughout the rest of his speech, Marcuse suggests how within a capitalist society we have an economic social arrangement which continues to make estranged relations. He puts forward that it does not take the economic position of class and class consciousness to achieve revolution and emancipation such as Marx’s theory. Marcuse instead suggests complete social revolution – that is the strive for a completely different society – pre-Marxist utopianism. In other words, to achieve liberation, we first need to rebuild the very nature of humanity, our understanding of ourselves, our relationship with one another, with nature. A consciousness of sensibility. What is most exciting about this and the main underlying point to this part of the discussion – is that Marcuse’s theory of achieving spontaneous liberation through sensibility, is that this aligns itself most clearly with that of the psychedelic experience, an experience which many of the students who followed him were exposed to daily. Sensibility as a means for liberation link to psychedelics in that they both employ a new consciousness, increased social awareness, understanding of oneself in relation to others as well as the relationship with nature. Psychedelics therefore are the sensibility in which Marcuse is proposing, and the spontaneous liberation, this ‘precursor’ to revolution is happening on such a large scale due to the abundance of psychedelic substances, altering consciousness throughout the decade. Psychedelics therefore can be considered as Marx’s missing link and are the catalyst for liberation revolution. The radical activism performed by the New Left (fig. 3) “became the dynamic center of the decade, pushing the young forward, declaring that change was here” (Gitlin, 1987, p. 13), and one of the main representations of the movement was the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a student activist organisation which had direct and important influence, specifically on college and university campuses throughout America. The amounting and inescapable presence of psychedelics suggests their undeniable effects – especially in and around student campuses such as the Berkley area where most of the New Left and SDS student activists were situated, “rejecting mainstream values, turning on to drugs, and marching in the streets” (Lee, 1992, p. 133).
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
The memorable actions of the New Left and the SDS demonstrate the radical and anarchist approach to achieving liberation during the counterculture period, “taking drugs was a way of saying "No!" to authority, of bucking the status quo. Drug use and radical politics often went hand in hand.” The widespread use of psychedelics such as LSD and cannabis “enabled many a budding radical to begin questioning the official mythology of the governing class” helping to “broaden the very definition of politics and thereby enhance the historical vision of the New Left” (Lee, 1992, pp. 128-129). In contrast to this level of confrontational activism and social anarchy against ‘the establishment’ fuelled by psychedelic revolutionary consciousness to achieve social liberation - is the Hippie movement, a movement within the counterculture era which utilised the booming presence of psychedelics to achieve liberation in a drastically different way to the radicals. Drug use, changes in consciousness and ideologies of the New Left and the Hippie movement overlap. The difference however manifests itself by way of the process in which both movements attempt to achieve this liberation – radical political confrontational activism versus peaceful spiritual society ‘drop out’. The Hippie movement (Main Points to include) - Comparison with new left - Spiritual / mystic exploration - Communes - peaceful protest (in comparison to the new left) - Woodstock? - spiritual and religious - psychedelic experience - gurus: Leary - protested by leaving society altogether - communes – strive for liberation from society - examples / figs? links directly to… Utopia Ideology - What is this? - associated with the hippie – why? - Communes were like trying to achieve the perfect successful society - utopia as well as the practicing of psychedelics spiritually to achieve liberation
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
Modern Day - Psychedelic Re-emergence (Main Points to include) - New studies to emerge into psychiatry once again – example? - Coincides / picks up with the research stopped in the 1960’s – example? - The importance of these studies - A type of liberation - new medical liberation – liberation from illness - What are these substances doing? - addiction therapy- ayahuasca - depression – mushrooms - MDMA – anxiety from death and PTSD trauma - LSD - cannabis – pain relief in cancer patients - Widespread media playing its part – a liberation of the voice of the people – a legacy carried over from the counterculture itself. – examples//figs? -Laws are changing - Modern day shaman – guided therapy – medicinal ritual - Psychedelics enter society in a way people can get on board with - Doesn’t fight the western system – world within its boundaries to better it (medicine) - Making up for the mistakes made by recreational use - Employing more of an ancient traditional sense of psychedelic medicine - Psychedelics doing a full circle – entered western world through psychiatry, medicinal in ancient times, medicinal now. - stigmas are changing as well as the laws Relate to practical / lay the ground work: - Stigma and dehumanising of these substances needs to addressed as well as very real and human benefits of psychedelic psychotherapy.
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
CHAPTER 3 – MAIN BODY 2: Case Studies (Notes) CASE STUDY 1: ALDOUS HUXLEY - See figs 4 & 5 (Main Points) Background and relevance • Huxley has direct links to emergence of psychedelics into western society during the 1950s & 1960s counterculture movement. - Respected by Shulgin (MDMA) & Hoffman (LSD) - Respected by key psychedelic gurus – Timothy Leary & Terrance McKenna • Helped coin the term psychedelic with Humphry Osmond - (After experience with LSD) • Interest in psychedelics far reaching – mescaline administered by Osmond - (Doors of Perception) • An advocate of psychedelics during the counterculture movement - Major literary intellectual figure, mystic / guru, philosopher • Had his wife, overseen by Osmond, administer LSD while on his death bed in the very last moments of his life Works for critical theoretical & contextual analysis: • Brave New World - Dystopia – Soma. A psychoactive stimulant - Depicts a world where society is controlled by the elite & the stimulant – Dystopian / negative effects VS • Island - Utopia – Moksha & ‘Moksha Medicine’ (Meaning ‘liberation’ in ancient Sanskrit) - Written after Huxley’s LSD experience - A correction to Brave New World - Depicts a successful society through the integration of a plant/mushroom Moksha - spiritual / altered states of consciousness / medical - liberation from society – creates a new one (Synthesis) • New Left movement: - Liberation from capitalism – emancipation, - Marcuse sensibility – pre-Marxist utopia • Hippie movement - Utopian Ideology – Island. - Integration of psychedelics into society (Island) - Communes – liberation from society in order to practice the integration of psychedelics and natural / spiritual teachings
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
- Communes – the escape from society in order to from separate communities draws parallels with Island – In that the island in the novel is in fact solitary – unaffected/unthreatened by ideals from outside of it •
Modern Day Psychedelic Medicine & Psychotherapy - Psychedelic as a medicine (particularly psilocybin mushroom = Moksha & Island) - Psychedelics as part of a successful society through integrated psychedelics (Island) - Stimulants (negative) linked with non-hallucinogenic substances we find in our society today (Caffeine, Tobacco…) (Brave New World & Soma) CASE STUDY 2: THE ORIGINS OF PSYCHEDELIC USE - See figs 6 (Main Points) • The psychedelic experience, previously discussed as an altered state of consciousness – one which has been perceived as a spiritual enlightenment / awakening • Timothy Leary & Terrance McKenna - not ‘Psychedelic’ but ‘entheogen’ • Psychedelics appear in the most ancient records of human existence - Art, cave carvings / paintings – petroglyphs • These depict shamans and psychedelic use - suggesting that the relevance of the ancient art was to teach, communicate knowledge, document key moments in human history - suggest the importance of psychedelics to the shaman, the ancient culture and the advancement of man and knowledge • Psychedelics worshipped like gods – gave godly insight • Why shamans used them? (Mostly mushrooms) • Psychedelics and ancient depictions of their use by shamans appear in every part of the world, at the beginning of every religion (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam...), in every period in history (Ancient Greece, Aztec, Mayan, Egyptian etc) • Still used today in tribes and ancient cultures (outside of western society) – considered medicine, sacred, sacramental and at the root of religious practice • Liberation from the senses and ordinary realm – expanded consciousness (Synthesis) • Huxley’s – Island - (Moksha) The presence and ancient practice of psychedelics – particularly mushrooms in the most ancient of art, cave petroglyphs and shamanic ritual • Hippie movement - The practice of psychedelic substance use to gain clearer understanding of oneself & relationship with nature - Spiritual guidance – shamanic - A sacrament
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1 •
Links directly to Modern day psychedelic medicine / psychotherapy in their shamanic use
CASE STUDY 3: COUNTERCULTURE PYSCHEDELIC ART See figs ---(Main Points) • Stereotypical depiction of the counterculture movement • To contrast with dull, typical, un-artistic visual material prior to movement • An attempt to visually convey the Psychedelic experience •
• • •
Made to appeal to the masses of the movement and the creative culture coming from it - Festival advertisement (Woodstock, Human Be-In) - Album artwork (Grateful Dead, Beatles) - Acid Test flyers (Ken Kesey) - Alternative ‘hippie’ underground press Aesthetic analysis and purpose -colour, pattern, type Influential by way of the creative
(Synthesis) • Counterculture movement – hippie – impact in fuelling the movement • Psychedelics and their visionary experience • Modern day “hippie / trippy” stigma • Drug induced artwork – not a true depiction of the beneficial / medical / spiritual benefits • Freedom / liberation / visual activism against the norm Purpose of this last case study: To refer to in CHAPTER 4 – MAIN BODY 3: Reflective Practice Use this example as a point of reference for what I DON’T want my practical response to be Synthesis between all case studies • All attempt to define the importance of the psychedelic experience - Visual documentation - Written hypothesis - Visual interpretation • All aim to enlighten, teach, increase knowledge and spread the word of psychedelics Point: Psychedelics are liberation
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
CHAPTER 4 – MAIN BODY 3: Reflective Practice (Notes)
CHAPTER 5: Conclusion
The relationship between psychedelic substances and liberation therefore lies at the true heart of experiencing the substances themselves. Personal liberation manifests itself through spiritual and social enlightenment, an awakening of the mind which can open doors for the repressed consciousness experienced in everyday life and provide a deeper understanding of what it truly means to be human. Through awakening this consciousness and putting us back in touch with ourselves, liberation can also be achieved by way of medical value through guidance, acceptance and appreciation of practice, proving to provide aid to much of the hardship humans experience in everyday life such as pain, mental illness and the core appreciation for life itself. The relationship is a natural and ancient one, welded into the very origins of human existence, the potential for this psychedelic liberation therefore, relies heavily on the society and culture these substances and their profound effects emerge into. If primed and ready to explore, learn, respect and apply what they can teach – who knows what further possibilities the future of psychedelics hold for the western world, and beyond. …. Therefore, what remains most important of this relationship (between psychedelics and liberation), is how we as humans use them / value them.
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
ILLUSTRATIONS
(Figure 1) Dr Albert Hoffman, holding the molecular structure of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)
(Figure 2) Herbert Marcuse among students, 1967
(Figure 3) Social activists in anti-war protest in 1960’s New York
(Figure 4) Aldous Huxley
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
(Figure 5) A final note written by Aldous Huxley to his wife on his death bed. This note requests a dose of LSD, which Huxley’s wife administers in the last moments of his life before he passes away.
(Figure 6)
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BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
(Figure 10)
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BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
(Figure 12)
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Needs sorting)
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BA (Hons) Illustration Context of Practice 3 Jessica Dawson Dissertation Draft 1
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