UNDER THE INFLUENCE
From ghosts to monsters and onto drugs. I was more than apprehensive when I went off to see «Sous Influence» («Under the Influence» at the Maison Rouge. Drugs of any kind frighten me - I guess in a way, any form of dependence frightens me. Could I divorce myself from the fact that many of the artists I was about to see had created under psychotropic drugs? I knew that the exhibition was to give a perception of the relationship between artists and psychotropics during the 20th century to the present day. Artists have frequently used such «artifices» in the research of new experiences in the hope that they would trigger off a richer form of creativity. Fortunately not all artists are concerned. I was told that an artist is not a drug addict like a real one as the reason for taking such stuff meant he could transfert his visions into new images. But how many of them killed themselves in the process? It was below 0° when I walked over to the Maison Rouge - a couple of kilometres away