12:30 PM

A psychedelic light show is a form of neurological art: flashing lights, sounds, and filmographic images stimulate never activated cerebella, which then lift what Aldous Huxley once famously described as socially imposed “valves.” By expanding human consciousness, this multimedia spectacle could alter human behavior and result in social change. This talk examines the relationship between the 1960s psychedelic light shows and the dissent politics of the New Left, focusing on the works of Yayoi Kusama, Timothy Leary, Otto Piene, Aldo Tambellini, Andy Warhol, and Joshua White.

Midori Yamamura (PhD, ABD, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York) is a specialist in post–World War II art from a feminist and a global perspective. She has curated numerous exhibitions in Japan and New York, and published various essays on art in Asia, Europe, and the United States. She is one of the authors of a forthcoming Yayoi Kusama retrospective exhibition catalogue (London: Tate Modern, 2012).]]> ]]> html]]>