RecordNumber
3573
Author
Chatterjee, Debanuj
Crop_Body
Debanuj Chatterjee
Title of Article
Fractal Analysis of a Sequence of LSD-Influenced Self-Portraits
Title Of Journal
Bridges
Publication Year
2019
Abstract
A sequence of recently published self-portraits made over the course of 10 hours by an anonymous artist under the
influence of LSD was analyzed using a box-counting technique for changes in any fractal dimension over time. The
computed dimension increased, plateaued, and then quickly decreased, in synchrony with the level of hallucinatory
imagery in the drawings. The errors in calculating the dimension was found to be lower for the images that were
drawn while the artist was tripping; which suggest that the images attained more fractality under the influence of
LSD. Since fractal dimension has often been linked to aesthetics of imagery, I also envisaged the potential of LSD to
impact the aesthetic value of an artist’s work.