This week we went over the connection between Neuroscience and Art. What interested me the most was learning about Albert Hofmann and LSD. Albert Hofmann was the first person to experience the psychedelic effects of LSD after synthesizing it (Vesna). His experience consisted of restlessness, hallucinations described as "fantastic pictures", and dilated eyes. Lysergic acid diethymide is a drug that "alters the state of your mind in significant ways" (Kaliszewski). What happens is that the drug binds to specific cell receptors and changes the way the brain responds to serotonin.
What the brain can go through while experiencing this drug is really interesting to me because it's as if you are shifting to a different reality. The world around you changes and can create new perspectives. In 1954, a psychiatrist names Oscar Janiger did research on LSD to discover the creative side of the drug. He gave an artist LSD doses and some art supplies to use while under the influence. He found that LSD guided creative problem solving (Janiger).
Artists have been inspired by psychedelics such as Maya Hayuk. Hayuk uses creativity boosting techniques to create art and has even experimented with a range of psychedelics to create paintings (Cortés). The inspiration LSD can have on art is amazing and can even be life changing for some artists. It can change their art style completely which can flourish their career. The experience of changes in perspective and alteration of sensory stimuli is what gives inspiration to the artists (Moawad).
Citations
Cortés, Michelle Santiago. “How Psychedelics Can Help Unlock Creativity.” Artsy, 21 Dec. 2018, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-psychedelics-offer-artists-creative-boost.
Heidi Moawad, MD. “Drugs and Creativity: Fact or Fiction?” Neurology Live, 14 Nov. 2020, www.neurologylive.com/view/drugs-and-creativity-fact-or-fiction.
Janiger, Oscar, and Marlene Dobkin De Rios. “LSD and Creativity.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, vol. 21, no. 1, 1989, pp. 129–134, https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.1989.10472150.
Kaliszewski, Michael. “What Does LSD Do to Your Brain?” American Addiction Centers, 11 Jan. 2023, americanaddictioncenters.org/lsd-abuse/what-does-lsd-do-to-your-brain.
Vesna, Victoria. Week 7: Neuroscience + Art. Design and Media Arts 9: Art, Science, and Technology. University of California, Los Angeles. May 2023.
Image Citations
Cohen, Alina. “When Timothy Leary Got Artists to Take LSD.” Artsy, 18 June 2018, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-timothy-leary-artists-lsd.
Frame, Free. “Effing the Ineffable: The Chambers Project Presents a Retrospective of Psychedelic Art.” Lucid News, 9 Sept. 2022, www.lucid.news/chambers-project-retrospective-psychedelic-art/.
“Maya Hayuk.” Img, mayahayuk.com/. Accessed 19 May 2023.
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