I have chosen to base my personal study on the psychedelic art and music of the 60s and 70s because I am extremely passionate about the art that arises from this time period, in the form of audio and visual work. I grew up listening to a wide variety of music of all different genres 24/7, as both my mother and father are very passionate about music and the art of live performance. I have attended Glastonbury Festival every year since I was born (excluding gap years) and have seen a huge variety of legends perform in front of me, including Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and many more. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay My mother was very into reggae in her late teens and early twenties, and spent a lot of her time going to see live shows with friends. My father always had eclectic musical tastes, didn't write in any genre that badly and was very open-minded. With this upbringing and constant participation in festivals and concerts, I think I have developed a very interesting and unique taste in music, and my family and I are constantly showing each other new bands and visiting concerts every week. Choosing this topic has allowed me to discover much more about the art and music I love and, if possible, appreciate them even more. Early Psychedelic Influences When looking at psychedelic art, you can see huge early influences 20th century European art movements such as Art Nouveau and Surrealism. Many of the psychedelic artists studied art history, so it makes sense that they draw inspiration from the greats to create their works. If we analyze psychedelic art, we get: fantastical subjects, kaleidoscope and spiral patterns, bright colors, extreme details and hippie typography. All these elements can be found in Art Nouveau and Surrealism. Although psychedelia is a movement in its own right, in the sense that all the artwork was very unique and different from what we have seen before, there are direct influences from older movements. Art Nouveau typically features flowers and natural images and a stylized, detailed drawing of a woman. You can find exactly hundreds of posters from the 60s and 70s, but with a twist. Psychedelic posters tended to include very bright, contrasting colors and had a trippier vibe, including hippie typography. Above ^ Direct comparisons between the influences of psychedelic art and Art Nouveau. Surrealism also greatly influenced flower power and the hippie movement. Many psychedelic artists designed their art based on psychedelic drugs or experiences they had. The use of these mind-altering substances allowed them to see things they wouldn't normally be able to experience, therefore creating some truly interesting and whimsical work. Looking at the work of Salvador Dali, one might assume that he also used drugs, as his work was so strange and halucogenic. However, Dali denied any drug use, saying, "I don't do drugs." They are drugs'. Despite this, he used some tricks to temporarily enter a different reality. For example, Dali would sit in a chair holding a spoon over a plate until he fell asleep, and the spoon would fall onto the plate creating a sudden noise just as he fell asleep, creating this almost lucid effect. Then he wrote down the things he saw and created art from them. He even stood upside down until he almost passed out, allowing his brain to alter things in front of him. There is a theory that humans useonly 10% of their brain during daily life. The whole concept of psychedelia is to expand this use of the brain and be able to see what others cannot see, whether that means taking hallucinogenic drugs or staying upside down until you enter a semi-lucid state. Dali had a huge influence on the psychedelic art movement due to his use of vivid surrealism. In July 1968, the Beatles released an animated video for "Yellow Submarine". This included very psychedelic imagery, with some scenes featuring a melting clock, directly inspired by Dali himself. 1955 marked the start of the Vietnam War and shortly thereafter the start of the hippie movement. Many people opposed the use of nuclear weapons and violence and gathered to protest about it. This group of people had very similar ideals and, as the movement grew, they acquired a stereotype. The official definition of a hippie is 'An unconventional-looking person, typically with long hair and wearing beads, associated with a subculture involving the rejection of conventional values ​​and the taking of hallucinogenic drugs.' While it's not possible to sum up an entire group of people in one sentence, this is a pretty accurate description. Hippies were fighting for equality, whether in the form of anti-racism, anti-homophobia, or anti-war shown footage of the Vietnam War, people were witnessing the terrible things that were happening and couldn't understand why this was the answer the country had come to to solve its problems resisters to the Vietnam War, one of which was that it was immoral like many other wars. The big question on everyone's mind was, “Why did the United States intervene?” Yes, North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked the two US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, but it seemed that the US had gotten its revenge after bombing them again. So why would President Johnson order regular bombing of North Vietnam? many seemed to have ulterior motives. Did they really want to help or were they simply gaining power? Did the United States cite the domino theory and the threat of communism as a reason to engage in a dispute that many thought should be resolved among the Vietnamese people? In addition to the question “why commit?” it was the fact that many civilians were being killed. Obviously hippies were for peace, so innocent and even non-innocent people losing their lives was reason enough to protest. Keep in mind: this is just one example. Get a personalized document now from our expert writers Get a custom essay Another reason why hippies protested against the war was because of the draft The draft was a problem for hippies because they believed it was specifically targeted at those who belonged to the middle and lower classes. making it unfair to the average person. As more and more troops were sent to Vietnam only to be injured or killed, more and more people joined the anti-war movement. Some veterans even participated and went so far as to throw away all the medals they won during their time fighting in the war. The end of this war was not in sight, but neither were the protests. The Popularization of Psychedelics In 1962, the thalidomide epidemic forced the FDA to tighten its IND regulations, and many states outlawed LSD. These new laws actually increased the amount of LSD available on the black market and made it more easily available. Timothy Leary, a 2.