A Cultural Kaleidoscope

Bright contrasting colors, kaleidoscopic effects, morphing shapes, repetitive patterns, intense pulsating lights, and the powerful energy of music. This may sound like a trip down memory lane for those who grew up in the 1960s (and perhaps it is), but these themes and the psychedelic influences on art and music still play a large role in the artistic world today.

With its basis on the ideas of peace, community, honesty, simplicity, creativity, and spirituality, the counterculture that emerged from the ‘60s has made a re-emergence in the present day and never truly left.

The social change of the ‘60s and early ‘70s is when a new psychedelic aesthetic emerged in art, music, graphic design, and fashion. People turned to art and the psychedelic drug culture that often went along with it not only as an outlet from the Vietnam War and the civil unrest in America, but also as a way to express themselves and explore new things.

This same desire for an escape from the harsh realities of the War in Iraq, the political state of our country, crime and countless acts of hatred, and the diminishing of the world’s natural resources can be seen in the youth culture in the new millennium as well. Though, we live in a different time period in a world that has made significant social, political, economic, and technical advances, the root of this now lesser known (but still existent) sub-culture remains in the fact that many young people seek to make the world a better place and find solace in the arts.

On my journey to become an arts journalist, I have traveled throughout the United States and Europe in order to view art and listen to music. I love the thrill of travel and the open road as well as art and music and the way they inspire me. I will trek anywhere to see and hear artists that I am interested in. My love of travel, culture, other languages, music, and art as well as my love for writing inspired me to become a journalist who writes about these topics. I believe that the arts and culture are interconnected and an integral part of the world we live in that needs to be championed and become more accessible to the public.