Art and psychedelics

[InTrippo]

Hi at all!

In these days I am reading a book, "Artificial Paradises" by Charles Baudelaire. There, the author says that hashish is not useful to artists' creativity. This affermation and its relatives arguments in favour gave birth in me to this curiosity: psychedelics, in which obviously does not fit hashish, could somehow stimulating creativity or the situations which they create are not useful to expand creativity?

I hope that the question is not trivial as it might appear.

 

[ararat]

if you think that hashish isn't psychedelic you haven't smoked/eaten enough of it

he may be right, or not. to me it seems that some drugs disinhibit some parts, or amplify others of your experience/brain/consciousness. so in a sense I think that hashish may bear a useful role (as a disinhibitor) in the creative process, but probably not one as big as some people might want to believe.
however, psychedelic drugs in themselves tend to produce disruptive experiences, which is always a good thing for creativity.

 

[InTrippo]

I've never eaten hashish, but about smoking I believe not to be just a beginner! I could be wrong, but I do not think that it could be a true psychedelic. I have never tried psychedelics, but perhaps I have an idea about their effects that is very different from hashish's one

However, you think that experiences by psychedelics could be a good thing for creativity. And do you think that they expand our knowledge or only "wake" something yet contained in our minds?

 

[Finarfin]

If a person is not creative, taking hashish or psychedelics i think will not change that. Creativity is something that comes from the individual. If you are a creative person you don,t need hashish to stimulate your creativity. Taking psychedelics or hashish does not make you more creative. however, What hashish and psychedelics can do is change the way we perceive the world around us.
It may change the way in which we look at art and also has an effect on the way music is perceived. Hashish and psychedelics have an effect on the thought process. I think hashish and psychedelics may also have an effect on the creative process and it may change the creative process.

I do not know if you are familiar the painter Alex Grey. Alex Grey wrote a book on art and the creative process. He also did talks and interviews that you can find on youtube. When we listen to the story of Alex Grey we notice that before his use of psychedelics he was already a creative person and an artist. The use of
(in his case) LSD did not make him more creative. What the use of LSD did for him was changing (transforming) the creative process. His work became more focused on the spiritual and the mystical or visonary.

The creative process and entheogens. By Alex Grey
The Creative Process and Entheogens - Alex Grey