The Art of Cannabis

To some people, cannabis isn’t just medicinal, it’s inspirational. Throughout humanity’s history poets, painters, writers and artists have employed this peaceful, useful herb to take their creative efforts to a whole new level, and they weren’t afraid to thank our favorite plant for their success.

Lee Lozano (1930-1999)

Lenore Knaster was an American painter and conceptual artist who used the title of Lee Lozano to take on the modern art world with performances that redefined the term. In 1969 she created Grass Piece Performance Art, which involved smoking cannabis all day for six weeks straight while keeping handwritten notes about the experience in a 16-page journal which was displayed as a work of art.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

Another innovator who helped define pop art, Warhol began as a commercial illustrator whose designs could be found in magazines and even on Campbell’s Soup cans. When asked about cannabis, he is quoted as saying, “I think pot should be legal. I don’t smoke it, but I like the smell of it.” If he did imbibe, it would certainly explain his success…his 1963 painting Eight Elvises once sold for $100 million dollars. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988)

Basquiat was a graffiti artist in New York City whose neo-expressionist images were fusions of poetry, illustration and paint created during his cannabis-induced creative sprees. Once his 1981 painting The Radiant Child appeared in Artforummagazine his legendary status was secured. He often signed his paintings “SAMO,” a title which referred to the strain he often enjoyed in Brooklyn, which stands for “Same Old Sh*t.”

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)

Pollock defied conventions by placing canvas on the ground and using techniques such as “drip painting” and “action painting” to produce chaotic, splattered linear designs including Full Fathom Five, Summertime and Number thirty-two. His revolutionary approach has been attributed to his use of certain substances, including cannabis. In 1949 an article in Life magazine about Pollock asked the question, “Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?”

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

A Spanish painter, sculptor and stage designer, Picasso was a bohemian artist who employed wine and cannabis to erase preconceived notions of perspective and technique to develop concepts such as Cubism and collage. He painted Three Musicians and Guernica, a harsh condemnation of the Spanish Civil War. “We must not discriminate between things,” he wrote. “Where things are concerned there are no class distinctions. We must pick out what is good for us where we find it.”

Salvado Dali (1904-1989)

Dali was an illustrator, painter and designer who produced surreal, “Dadaistic” paintings that intrigue and disturb viewers to this day. Some include The Persistence of Memory, Swans Reflecting Elephants and Christ of Saint John of the Cross. His paintings featured warped, melting solids which certainly drew inspiration from cannabis. He didn’t dispute it, saying, “I don’t do drugs, I am drugs” and that he himself was “hallucinogenic.”

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

Like most artists of his time, the legendary Van Gogh literally painted with cannabis—the canvas and paint that he worked with were largely composed of hemp paper and oil. His post-impressionist masterpieces were unappreciated during his lifetime, and he grappled with mental demons that hindered his work. While creating Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette, Courtesan and Bedroom in Aries he often imbibed wine, absinthe and cannabis to help, and art today is richer for it.

Tracy Blevins (1972- )

Blevins has a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Texas, Houston Medical School, but that hasn’t stopped her from using her character, a buxom, pink-haired virago named Medical Marijuana Barbie, from drawing attention to the cause with cunning displays of performance art. As the star of the “Medical Marijuana Traveling Circus Sideshow,” Blevins once posed completely nude with a cannabis leaf for modesty during a demonstration in London, UK.

Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005)

“I have always loved marijuana,” Thompson wrote. “It has been a source of joy and comfort to me for many years.” As one of modern America’s greatest writers and journalists, he created works of literature such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,The Rum Diary and The Great Shark Hunt.