Table Of Contents: Introduction History Visual Components Examples Influential Designers Conclusion
introduction Psychedelia and the Psychedelic movement:
1960-1975
Psychedelic art Is any art inspired by the altered states of consciousness experienced while on psychedelic drugs such as LSD or psilocybin.
The word “psychedelic” was created by British psychologist Humphry Osmond. It means “mind manifesting”. Artistic efforts to depict the inner world of the psyche are considered “psychedelic”.
HiSTORY:
The end of WWII in 1945 brought about a post-war economic boom in the U.S. It also brought about an enormous spike in the birth rate, known as “the baby boom.� Between 1945 and 1957 nearly 76 million babies were born in America. By the middle 1960s, these kids became young adults.
These “baby boomers” questioned America’s materialism and conservative cultural and political norms. These young Americans in the 1960s and 70s addressed many controversial issues. From civil rights, the Vietnam War, nuclear proliferation, and the environment to drug use, sexual freedom, and nonconformity. Many youth sought spiritual experiences through Eastern Mysticism and psychedelic drugs.
The
movement The Psychedelic movement influenced people to have a deeper experience while viewing art and typography. Design was no longer something only to be admired. It became something to consume and to
feel.
It was similar to the surrealist movement Because it prescribed a mechanism for obtaining inspiration. The mechanism for surrealism was the observance of their dreams, while the mechanism for psychedelic artist was their hallucinations induced by Drugs
Pop culture: Music festivals and concerts were a prominent feature of the 60s landscape, Psychedelic visual arts were a counterpart to psychedelic rock music.
Concert posters, album covers, lightshows, murals, comic books, underground newspapers and more, reflected not only the kaleidoscopically swirling patterns of LSD hallucinations, but also revolutionary political, social and spiritual sentiments inspired by insights derived from these psychedelic states of consciousness.
The Visual Components of Psychedelia: Typical psychedelic designs featured abstract swirls of intense color with curvilinear calligraphy. Specfic Design Characteristics Incude: 1. Curvilinear shapes 2. Illegible hand-drawn type 3. Vibrant optical color vibration 4. Abstracted Swirs
Influential Designers:
Wes Wilson and Victor Moscoso
Wes Wilson Wes Wilson was one of the best-known designers of psychedelic posters. Most well known for designing posters for Bill Graham, he invented a style that is now synonymous with the peace movement, psychedelic era, and the 1960s. In particular, he is known for inventing and popularizing a psychedelic font around 1966 that made the letters look like they were moving or melting.
examples:
Victor Moscoso Moscoso trained graphic designer who borrowed from comic books, Victorian images, Art Nouveau, and pop art. He used the concept of vibrating colors to create the ‘psychedelic’ effect in many of his pieces. The vibration is achieved by taking colors from the opposite end of the color wheel, each one having equal value and intensity.
examples:
Conclusion I have always been extremely inspired by the activism and vibrancies in the young adults during the psychedelic movement. My love for music, social ] justice, and environmental causes, has always drawn me towards this era. The psychedelic design movement was such a distinct and valuable time in history.
As Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine put it …. “The culture wars that began in the sixties, about drugs, about military incursions into foreign countries, about sex and human rights, the environment and on and on, are still being fought. All the issues are correct, and they are rooted in the activism of the sixties. The values have not only survived – in many ways they are the mainstream values of our times.”