Item 4: Opium Board *
Date: Fall of 2007
Location: Student’s apartment
Informant: Anonymous
*A note about discussion and interview in concerns of the opium board. As this art does deal with drug culture names have been changed for interviews. These Interviews are from three contributors to the opium boards and they shared their thoughts on the creation of it.
Jakobi “The Yellow Jacket” Smith
“In the beginning there was the wall. In the beginning of the apartment was the wall. A project put together by the residents and many friends. It all started with one stroke of a permanent marker and since turned into a beautiful monstrosity of art. A giant mural and a kaleidoscope of drawings. Brick by brick, picture by picture, artist by artist, it grew. The inspiration? Copious amounts of ganja and great conversations. Each person and painting adds something new and insane; it may seem like chaos yet it flows like the clothes of heaven.”
Albert Ias
“The “Opium Board” is most notable for its non-directional style. The drawings literally grew organically and randomly. People came and went, all the while adding their piece and moving on. It mimics life as good art should.
The piece as a whole is drug-induced. Though questionable to some, to many others, drugs are a mechanism by which we can connect to our subconscious minds as well as our imaginations and creative drives. People who’ve never tried marijuana may view it as a way to escape. In a way it is. Drugs allow us to escape reality, our conscious minds, and move into a place free from distractions. Buddhists see the ability to clear the mind from distractions as an uphill battle. Years of meditation and practice precede enlightenment. For those of us without the time or willpower to dedicate our lives to “cleaning the mirror of our mind,” drugs give us a peek at this world.
Naturally, being stoned tempts one to draw drug-related material. This pins the expressions to drug sub-culture. Good art, it now seems, relays messages from the sub-culture. Picasso tore art apart. Andy Warhol made something out of nothing. They painted with their minds instead of their hands. We painted with drugs…with our minds.”
Isis Key
“When this board came into my possession, I was in an artistic phase deeply influenced by Frank Stella; therefore I began my contribution with this in mind. I drew straight lines to begin, but they quickly morphed into curves, arches, and finally, a sphere. I was feeling the full effects of the opium kick in by this point, which kept me glued to the sphere. I added shading and colors to make it a vibrant focus in the artwork. Keeping in mind that I was one of the first to touch what I knew would be a collaborative effort, I left space and opportunity for others to add on, or hopefully, play with what I had created.
When I saw the completed project in all its drug-induced glory, I was surprised-no, quite pleased. Everything worked together so harmoniously. The drugs created a bond with the artists; they were connected.”
Comments:
For this project I was able to obtain three really great interviews discussing the Opium Board and the wall art. These pieces of art turned out to be an anonymous group collaboration. In a sense it was an artistic experiment. Combining drugs and a giant canvas for anyone to doodle on. The wall slowly grew into a beautiful beacon of creativity and became a visual interpretation of a collective subconscious.
Really its function is to produce a message that is created from individual creativity. It is also stands as a symbol that sends a message from the drug community. This is physical proof that drugs aren’t entirely destructive. That maybe they can have positive benefits and help creativity flourish in a person. I honestly feel like the drug culture connected to this art is a statement that helps shine a more positive light on drugs such as marijuana.
The cigarette board is a very interesting piece. Its meaning is to help make people aware of how much they are littering at the Collins Courtyard. Also, at the same time it functions a message about littering around the entire world. Seeing the Earth made out of cigarette butts gives the spectator a small insight on just how much we pollute the Earth. And as a result this piece of art may inspire people to be more responsible about where they put their trash.
The graffiti bridge is also an interesting location to find art. Again it follows the theme of individual art that is done anonymously to create a large community art. This specific area was interesting because compared to the wall art Bridget discovered this is much more unorganized. Bridget finding showed that the artist were a group of people who were very organized in their work. Here I like to think of the art being done by “stray graffiti artist”. The location can be seen of more as a place found by stray graffiti artist to freestyle whatever they want.