Psychedelic Art Movement

The psychedelic movement was an alternative art and design movement that developed in America, especially in California during the social unrest of the mid-1960. This new art movement was influenced and associated itself with popular culture including rock music and the growing ‘Hippy’ culture. Also at the time the introduction of psychedelic and mind-expanding drugs, such as LSD were being used by artist. The visual sensations of the drugs were portrayed in their works, which were made up of distorted imagery, illegible lettering and vivid and garish colours schemes. These elements were highly applied to music posters, magazines and record covers. Pyschedelic art combined various elements from previous art movements and the main influences on psychedelic art derive from Art Nouveau, Surrealism, Op art and Pop art.

Milton Glazer poster

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Key characteristics

• Fantastic, metaphysical and surrealistic subject matter
• Kaleidoscopic patterns
• Bright highly contrasting colors
• Extreme depth of detail or stylization of detail.
• Morphing of objects 
• spirals, concentric circles
• Repetition of motifs
• Innovative typography and hand-lettering
• warping and transposition of positive and negative spaces imagesof art

The most important figure in psychedelic art were Victor Moscoso, Wes Wilson and Peter Max. An important fact about these influential desuigners is that they were self tought and this was first time in the history of art that the artist didnot have any traditional artistic knowhow.

As the movement progressed, many other artists became associated with the artistic style of Psychedelic Art. Some of these artists included Peter Max, Mati Klarwein, Pablo Amaringo, Roger Dean, and Robert Williams. Even the artist Salvador Dali became associated with the Psychedelic Art style. The Psychedelic movement had a strong influence on comic book artists who created an underground genre of comic book art known as “underground comix.” Robert Crumb was one of its chief proponents. By te early 1970’s psyched elia was an important visual component of youth culture through Europe and the U.S.

Vctor Moscosso poster

Victor Moscoso

The most important figure in psychedelic art were Victor Moscoso, Wes Wilson and Peter Max. An important fact about these influential designers is that they were self tought and this was first time in the history of art that the artist did not have a baisis of traditional artistic knowhow.



References

http://visualartsdepartment.wordpress.com/psychedelic-60s/

http://www.arthistory.net/artstyles/psychedelicart/psychedelicart1.html

All accessed 24/1/2014 1300

The Thames and Hudson
Dictionary of Graphic design and Designers
1992-98 Thames and Hudson Ltd, 
London UK