Boing Boing had highlighted an art show on the drug “HAVIDOL” (which I never heard of) which seems to be used as a treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder (sounds like something we all could use….hmm).  Anyway, I ended up at the opening for the HAVIDOL show last night at Daneyal Mahmood.

The gallery was packed and I spoke to Justine Cooper for about 1 minute – interesting woman and an interesting show 

(and plenty of nice candy pills were readily available).

The paintings in the show were photographed by Justine Cooper, mocked up (with the Havidol logo and text) then sent to China for translation into a painting.  Overall the show was pretty good.  I wondered if the drug company that manufactures HAVIDOL would go after Justine Cooper for this show ……she replied “Why would they?”

Judging from the HAVIDOL show …..we’d all want to be taking it – the Drug Companies would want to do more of these kinds of art events.

Here’s what Boing Boing’s  David Pescovitz had to say about Drug Marketing as Art:

From the marketing material:

“Everyone should be able to live life to its fullest. I used to believe I did. I felt confident in myself, and my relationships. I exercised regularly. I slept quietly through every night, and awoke each morning feeling refreshed and ready to start a new day. I now know I had a treatable disorder…”

From the artist’s statement:

HAVIDOL taps into our collective desire and expectation that there is always room for improvement, while walking the line between poking fun at ourselves and wondering how to obtain a prescription. The marketing message leaves us with the sense that we are never good enough, nor have enough. Are we a society of hypochondriacs, or are we biologically built and genetically urged to out-compete our peers and former selves? Cooper’s works on exhibition comment on our temperamental relationship to western medicine, built upon the idea of a malfunctioning body or mind, and the yearning to believe everyday life can be remedied.

Link to Havidol.com Link to the gallery.