[The Niles Edge]

well, my friend and i have had somewhat of a debate going for a long time and i just wanted to get other artists opinons on it. i know there has always been a drug scene associated with art, van Gogh with his absenth and whatnot. well, he feels that marijuana enhances his creativity and that it is in fact necessary for anyone to really be creative. he seems to have read somewhere that it is proven that marijuana promotes creative thinking. but i am firmly set in the belief that the drug doesnt make the artist and the only reason he is any good is because he has had a lot of practice. i think that if he is in fact "more creative" on weed it would only be because of a placebo effect. i just wanted to get all of your opinions on the subject. Do you think that drugs enhances an artists ability at all? Or that an artist who refuses drugs is in any way hindered?
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...be sure man that every
line drawn reflects a life that you loved
not an existence that you hated.
-Incubus

[Gort]

[Impaler]

I've found that stoners make more excuses and justifications for their habit than anyone else in the entire world. So, when someone says that they smoke weed to make them more creative, or more open to philosophical concepts, or to make social interaction more interesting, you should always (stress the always) interpret that to mean they haven't realized that they smoke weed only because it feels good.

Sort of like me saying I masturbate everyday because it makes me appreciate women more.
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QED, sort of.

[Tedsuo]

Impaler, do you feel that masterbation enhances your creativity, and that it is in fact necessary for anyone to really be creative?



I have definitely come up with some hilarious animation ideas while high, but they always lose their sparkle once I've calmed down a bit. All my really good ideas seem to come in the shower actually. Go figure.


As for actually creating art while stoned... that always feels like I'm trying to run a marathon, with a midget holding on to my ankles.


-T

[YVerloc]

Background: I live in Vancouver BC. Canada is very permissive on the subject of Marijuana use. I have many friends who are heavy marijuana smokers, among them many talented artists, including some whose abilities as artists I find awe inspiring. As for me, I'm a total abstainer from mind warping vices; don't drink alcohol, use drugs, smoke, or worship any deities. I never have.

These friends and I have had many discussions on the subject. This is what I have concluded from those discussions:

Weed seems to eliminate artists block. I get afraid of an empty page. Many artists do. High artists apparently don't feel this fear as acutely, as their inhibtions are lowered.

My friends report that weed gives them a feeling they call 'flow'. As I understand it, flow is a sort of dynamic focus - ideas flow past and are experienced vividly. One's work process likewise flows out in a steady stream. A stream of what though?

Weed seems to enable so-called 'lateral thinking'. A high artist is likely to have an interesting idea from 'way out there'. This seems to be at the expense of 'deep thinking', where an idea is explored in great and intense depth. This 'flow' they describe sweeps them over a lot of territory, so they don't seem to stay in one place long enough to develop very deep insights.

Weed seems to increase the percieved value of mediocre ideas. A lot of trash is floating around in our heads, waiting to get cleaned up. Weed acts like a can of gold sparypaint. Suddenly a peice of perfectly ordinary garbage looks like a golden treasure. My high friends can get really enthusiastic about some pretty ordinary stuff, sometimes.

I suspect it's the wide vista it seems to unlock that makes weed valuable to artists. Fine art is a field where novelty is highly valued, so it makes sense that anything that helps an artist generate 'new' ideas could be valuable.

In any field that requires "deep focus" (as opposed to rambling, enthusiastic wandering) is probably going to be hindered by pot smoking. I'd say that illustration may be one such field. Rendering requires intense focus for a long time. It requires a deep understanding of what's happening with the forms and the light. I doubt that my high friends are physically capable of sitting down and rendering like a human computer for twelve straight hours. Even if being high wasn't a factor, I think brain health would be. Most drugs damage the brain and impair mental performance in long lasting ways. An intense rendering session is like a marathon; a chronic weed smoker's brain is like a cigarette smoker's wheezy lungs.

But there does seem to be a legitimate trade off to be made. Weed does seem to enhance some components of art making, while supressing others. Two questions come to mind:

A) what kind of artist does one want to be? If Spooge a role model and you don't have so much talent you can afford to blunt it, then I'd guess that sobriety and hard work are the way to go. If, on the otherhand, you want to do something new and shocking in the art world, then your state of mind has a long journey to make before it gets into pioneer territory. Getting high might be a better way to cover the distance than going insane.

B) Is it possible to enhance the weed-centric capabilities without weed? Dunno. It's a moot point for me personally. I get to work alongside tokers whose work I really repect and admire. Having a different (sober) set of capabilities is my way of making a contribution when we collaborate.

Sorry for the length. It's really pertinent for me personally, so I thought I'd explain my thoughts in full.

Cheers
YV

[hans_e]

I agree that this depends soley on the person. I've known many fantastic artists from all walks of life and have respected all of their view points. However, one thing for public: Don't trip on acid and sketch. I've seen my friend back in highschool do this this time and time again. He claimed that this is how he did his best work. I agree that the work had an amazing surreal affect usually; however, I also saw him break into a bad trip where he held a drawing pencil to another friend's neck, claiming that he didnt know him and that he was protecting us. After that instance I've been a really big fan sober art. Hisotry might disagree with me though (Edgar Poe and many other masters). Who knows?