Vintery, mintery, cutery, corn,
Apple seed and apple thorn,
Wire, briar, limber lock
Three geese in a flock
One flew East
One flew West
And one flew over the cuckoo's nest
While LSD became extremely popular during the 1960s as a symbol of American Counterculture, its origins date back to more than two decades earlier, to a man named Alber Hofmann. Hofmann was a researcher at Sandoz, a Swiss chemical company when he first discovered LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, in 1938. However, it was until April 19, 1943, that Hofmann would accidentally ingest a little portion, after which he soon began to see "extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic plays of colors."
So what exactly does LSD do? LSD is classified as a hallucinogen, meaning it causes hallucinations. People who take it go on a "trip," sometimes pleasurable, sometimes, terrifying. During the 1950s, the CIA used this drug as a part of their Project MK-Ultra, determined to find whether such effects could be used as a psychological weapon for interrogation. They would soon find, however, that "LSD was too unpredictable to use in the field" and shut down the investigation during the 60s.
Nevertheless, this was well enough to introduce LSD into American culture. It turns out that Ken Kessey, the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, actually volunteered to be a part of Project MK-Ultra at Stanford University in order to earn some money to help with the publication of his book. After it was published in 1962, Kessey actually went on to promote the drug to the rest of America, hosting LSD-fueled parties wight here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Such actions were later detailed in Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, published in 1968.
Many celebrities soon began to utilize the hallucinogenic effects of LSD to produce more extraneous forms of art. Those who took it regarded themselves as the "psychedelic philosopher" and felt all limitations of the contemporary society fade away. Musicians such as The Beatles, Brian Wilson, and Pink Floyd all took advantage of the new world opened to them through LSD. For example, when The Beatles released their album Revolver in 1966, listeners began to hear sounds they have never heard before, such as "tape looping, reversed guitars, vocal effects, and altered speeds." Cinematographers who took such trips also began to experiment with different types of visual effects, usually involved bright colors and wavy distortion.This idea that Americans should not be strictly limited by cultural constriction and have the ability to chose their own lives is still present today. Several famous companies express this idea of individualism in their slogans. Burger King states, "Be your way." Apple proposes, "Think different." And probably the most famous one, "Stay extraordinary," says Coke. Of course, LSD cannot be considered as the sole factor in America's cultural shift during the 60s. Nevertheless, it sure is arguably one of the most famous symbols of a new type of American culture.
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I remember my English teacher mentioning that Ken Kesey had a bus that he drove from California to New York while experimenting with writing and LSD and both at the same time. After researching this topic, I found that his bus trip is sometimes considered the starting point for the psychedelic 60s. The purpose of Kesey's journey was to promote his book, Sometimes a Great Nation, and acid to the American people. Apparently he believed he was spreading "the gospel of freedom through LSD." I think it's interesting how this movement that started with a road trip across the country played such a big role in American culture and the arts as you mentioned.
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I think this blog is especially interesting considering the fact that LSD was used a lot in the Bay Area. One major event that lead to the so-called "Psychedelic Sixties" was the Trips Festival, which was in SF in 1966. LSD became used by many musicians and other artists who thought it would influence and change their work, but it was surely a cultural phenomenon in the 60s.
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I wanted to read "The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in English class, but I wasn't able to. It was interesting to see how the author, Ken Kesey wrote the book while using LSD. It was also interesting how this psychedelic era of America was occurring right as the civil rights movement was gaining traction. While creating "The One Who Flew Overs the Cuckoo's Nest", Kesey spent time talking to patients at pyschiatric wards. It is interesting to see how Kesey did not regard these patients as insane rather as people who society shunned for being different.
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It really is fascinating that many elements of the American culture were shaped by drugs and the different dimensions it opened for musical artists and celebrities. On the scientific side of things, LSD and other hallucinogens can cause hallucinations such as seeing, hearing, touching, or smelling things in a distorted way or perceiving things that do not exist along with intensified feelings and sensory experiences such as brighter colors and sharper sounds. These effects can explain why many certain art forms of the time was outlandish and unique as the artist is able to express different feelings experienced from hallucinogens.
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I found the various cultural impacts of LSD that you discussed to be very interesting. Something I looked at is the specific examples of LSD affecting individuals and how it continues to shape culture today. In the 2000s, LSD often created new forms of music expressed by artists from Bob Dylan to The Beatles. LSD was remarked to often boost creativity in individuals, causing them to hear never before heard sounds that also influenced their musical decisions. Even today, various examples of LSD use, such as Steve Jobs advocating for small doses of LSD, shows that the impact of the drug is still widely up for debate. LSD also influenced cultural art during the time period, as painters such as Mati Klarwein often took LSD when painting album covers or other pieces of cultural art. Work in dot art, as well as 3-D experiences in art, such as Carsten Holler’s Upside Down Mushroom Room, can also be attributed to LSD.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20181016-how-lsd-influenced-western-culture