Are You Experienced?

Tim Kane of the TU profiles Ken Johnson (who speaks today at the UAlbany Art Museum) and reviews Johnson's new book, Are You Experienced?: How Psychedelic Consciousness Transformed Modern Art (2011).

"Part cultural history, part memoir [the book] is a trip back to when the psychedelic appeared in art in the 1960s. Many historians view the period as mercurial and faddish, but Johnson argues it's seminal to the art we see today. During that time, artists deviated from accepted forms to challenge orthodoxy. Everything was game, including dirt, trash and the body as the canvas dissolved. Whether artists dropped acid or not, Johnson (yes, he dropped and inhaled) says the rebellious counterculture arising outside of art "pushed the limits of collective imagination in the 60s in unprecedented ways" Read more.

Also, check out Michael Janairo's slide show on the TU Blog of "After School Special," the UAlbany Alumni show, curated by Johnson.