Week 7: NeuroSci + Art

One quote that tied the sources to my personal findings is the following from Neuroculture:

‘Certain artists have produced work that either represents the artists’ state of consciousness when creating the work of art, or evokes altered states of experience in the viewer. The drugs of choice have changed as culture has evolved.’

Whilst LSD was the drug of the 20th century, prescription drugs like Prozac and Zoloft are the mainstream drugs of the 21st century. Victoria Vesna went into detail about how LSD shaped art and science in the later half of the 20th century, with psychologists like Timothy Francis Leary accidentally marketing LSD as a recreational drug, and the CIA’s work in Project MKUltra.

Henri Michaux, during the 60’s, created works heavily inspired by mescaline and LSD, which featured a series of Pollock-esque lines and dots. He later said the drug diminished his creativity.



My project for another class has prompted me to research bipolar medication and its relationship to art, and I stumbled across an artist who to me is the modern day Henri Michaux; Bryan Lewis Saunders. Saunders takes drugs, some illegal, most of them prescription, and draws self portraits whilst on them. His works went viral on the internet, representing neuroculture in action.



The work From Cradle to Grave by Pharmacopeia features pills taken by a man and a woman through their entire life. This pills include headache tablets, Viagra, and a series of antidepressants. Antidepressants are the new LSD, in the sense that they’ve made a massive cultural impact and contemporary artists draw on them for inspiration. 




Links

  1. Anker, Suzanne. "Neuroculture." Perspectives. By Giovanni Frazetto. n.d. N. Web.
  2. Neuroscience Pt3. Dir. Victoria Vesna. Perf. Victoria Vesna. Youtube. Uconline, 16 May 2012. Web. 18 May 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5EX75xoBJ0>.
  3. Paz, Octavio. "Octavio Paz on the Psychedelic Writings of Henri Michaux." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 09 Aug. 2002. Web. 19 May 2017. <https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/aug/10/featuresreviews.guardianreview18>.
  4. Pharmacopoeia. "‘Cradle to Grave’, In Sickness and in Health." Pharmacopoeia. Pharmacopoeia, 2009. Web. 19 May 2017. <http://www.pharmacopoeia-art.net/articles/in-sickness-and-in-health/>.
  5. Saunders, Bryan Lewis. "DRUGS." Bryan Lewis Saunders. Bryan Lewis Saunders, n.d. Web. 19 May 2017. <http://bryanlewissaunders.org/drugs/>.


Pictures

Michaux, Henri. Mescaline Drawing. 1960. MoMa, New York. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. MoMa. Web. 18 May 2017. <https://www.moma.org/collection/works/38081>.

Pharmacopoeia. From Cradle to Grave. 2003. The British Museum, England. Pharmacopoeia Art. Pharmacopoeia, 2009. Web. 18 May 2017. <http://www.pharmacopoeia-art.net/articles/in-sickness-and-in-health/>.


Saunders, Bryan Lewis. Geodon (60mg). 2008. Bryan Lews Saunders. Bryan Lews Saunders, 2008. Web. 18 May 2017. <http://bryanlewissaunders.org/drugs/>.




Comments

  1. UnknownMay 24, 2017 at 8:31 AM

    Kayla, great blog post for this week. Very good commentary about drugs such as LSD in the 20th and 21st century. I also liked how you talked about how a project from another class prompted you to research bipolar medication and its relationship to art.

    ReplyDelete

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