When art therapy went chemical: Alfred Bader, pharmacology, and art brut, c.1950-1970s.

Psychopharmacology reshaped the relationship between art and psychiatry, repositioning the origins of art therapy within evolving clinical practices and discourses on mind-altering drugs. The article traces the use of psychotropic drugs in connection with psychopathology of art in the early twentieth century, then focuses on two post-Second World War experiments with psilocybin by psychiatrist Alfred Bader and pharmacologist Roland Fischer. These examples show how consciousness became central to discussions of mental health, as psychotherapists increasingly framed art brut and modernist aesthetics in neurobiological terms to define madness as a social disease.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article analyzes how psychopharmacology transformed the relationship between art and psychiatry. It outlines a novel genealogy of art therapy, repositioning its origins in the context of evolving clinical practices and discourses on mind-altering drugs. Evaluating the use of psychotropic drugs in connection with psychopathology of art in the first half of the twentieth century, the article then focuses on two post-Second World War experiments involving psilocybin conducted by psychiatrist Alfred Bader and pharmacologist Roland Fischer. Illustrating how consciousness was foregrounded in discussions about mental health and illness, the examples showcase how psychotherapists increasingly sought to articulate art brut and modernist aesthetics in a neurobiological fashion to define madness as a social disease.