The Acid Aesthetic LSD Could Have in the Interrogation of Soviet Spies

14 PRINT 71.1 SPRING 2017 Evolution Richard Kuhn, who realized the power The Acid Aesthetic LSD could have in the interrogation of Soviet spies. Testing increased and it When tracing the history of groovy patterns and far-out became a tool of counter-espionage. Argu- ably, this is when the LSD genie escaped typography, the Doors of Perception don’t always open its bottle and fled into the mainstream. onto the 1960s. by Steven Heller In 1960, the gurus of acid, Harvard pro- fessors Leary and Richard Alpert (known as Ram Dass), started the Harvard Psilo- an Francisco in the 1960s was to explore LSD’s psychopharmaceuti- cybin Project initially to address how the the world capital of counter- cal potential, followed by international so-called “magic mushrooms” they had culture mind expansion, where drug companies and ultimately the U.S. discovered in Mexico altered the course LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) government. Altering consciousness for of human conscious and subconscious was the rocket to an unexplored opportunistic outcomes, LSD, psilocy- behaviors. Serious studies and papers Suniverse of perception and aesthetics. bin and other psychedelic compounds began to appear in scholarly journals, The word psychedelic, a meld of the were tested to determine how they could notably the Psychedelic Review (1963–1971), Greek psyche and delos, meaning mind- be employed as neuro-medical-military by researchers and creatives interested or soul-manifesting, was promoted by a weapons, including how soldiers on in everything from the religious to the pantheon of passionate scientists, schol- the battlefield would perform while in neuropharmaceutical to the artistic poten- ars and thinkers such as Timothy Leary, altered states of mind. tial of the drug. By the mid-’60s, Leary’s Ken Kesey and Oswald Stanley. (Even In 1938 the Swiss chemist Dr. Albert mantra turn on, tune in and drop out set the film icon Cary Grant used “therapeu- Hofmann was among the first to synthe- the tone for a generation concerned with tic” hallucinogens.) They made LSD’s size LSD into usable dosages, but even he everything from metaphysics and mysti- very existence define the time and place. didn’t realize its hallucinogenic properties cism to experiential highs. As acid became Yet before San Francisco exploded with until 1943. LSD was linked to the fate of more plentiful and trips more frequent, flower power, hippie culture, white rab- the free world, when during the postwar despite fears of chromosomal damage bits and psychedelic art, the drug had years, the U.S. Joint Intelligence Objec- and psychosis, LSD quickly emerged as a more nefarious role in the early 20th tives Agency in Europe launched Opera- an incredible influence on the alterna- century’s plunge into mass manipula- tion Paperclip, collaborating with former tive culture—music, film, fashion, art and tion. Nazi scientists were among the first Nazi chemists led by Nobel Prize winner graphic design. Evolutionarily, the visual language of psychedelics began long before the drug was discovered, although certain danger- ous opiates served similar purposes. The kaleidoscopic late 19th-century Art Nouveau (and Vienna Secession) typefaces and graphic patterns that definedfin de siècle youth cultures are direct forbearers of ’60s psychedelics. In the 1920s, Surreal- ist exploration of the dreamscape was also an outlier for what would become psychedelia in the ’60s. On the whole, the roots of psychedelic design dug deep into other alternative artforms. But for those unfamiliar with the history, psychedelics seemed to have emerged fully formed—the public opened their eyes one day, and San Francisco was suddenly awash with split fountain colors and illegible lettering on rock posters and San Francisco Oracle covers. Indeed, artists like Victor Moscoso, Mouse Studios, Wes Wilson, Rick Griffin and others integrated, reinterpreted and invented new undulating graphic languages that were partly influenced by the hallucinogens they imbued. But their work also defined the essence of psychedelic art and design. More than the inner eye, the outer view—and cultural code—was what categorized and embodied the experience and continues to do so. Indian music is not necessarily what is heard while tripping, but its ethereal quality was adopted as the sound of psychedelics. There are many ways to hallucinate, but to suggest an acid trip, filmmakers used gauze on their lenses. Fashion designers took vintage clothes, added outrageously decorative and colorful effects, and it became the style of the times. All of this is not to imply that the psychedelic experience was not authentic. It was brought to life in a postwar world where Modernism was in decline and Postmodernism was not yet on the rise. Psychedelia was a cultural bridge between the abstract and surreal that lasted a short period in its pure state, before being co-opted by mass marketing and fashion. ▪ Steven Heller is the co-chair of the MFA Design/Designer as Author + Entre- preneur program at School of Visual Arts, and the author of more than 170 books. He is an AIGA medalist and received the 2011 Smithsonian Institution National Design Award for “Design Mind.”.

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