A Creative's New Book Pairs Cannabis With Great Works of Art

Just in time for 4/20, the most hallowed holiday on the weed calendar, a senior advertising creative will publish his first book, High Art: The Definitive Guide to Getting Cultured With Cannabis. This coffee-table tome pairs some of the world’s greatest artwork with the specific cannabis strains, edibles and THC-infused beverages that can help make sense of them. The goal is to “elevate your experience” with the likes of Goya, Da Vinci, Rousseau and Monet so you can fully embrace the book’s unofficial tagline: “Art is dope!” A resurrected pitch A few years ago, Rob Lambrechts, chief creative officer at Pereira O’Dell in San Francisco, brainstormed a cannabis-meets-art-history book as part of a new business pitch. The potential client didn’t bite, and Lambrechts put the concept aside, not knowing if he’d ever revive it. A short time later, he ended up in a random conversation with an executive at Clarkson Potter, part of the Penguin Random House publishing giant. She loved the idea, which set him on an odyssey to create a one-of-a-kind project meant to educate and entertain. A sober project Contrary to what people may think, “High Art” was not birthed in a cloud of smoke, nor was its creation an excuse to eat THC-laden chocolate all day. “I cannot work or write under the influence,” Lambrechts told Adweek. “The actual work was done while sober.” In fact, he spent much of his time researching cannabis to learn about its effects on the mind and body, specifically what moods and feelings it could evoke. That led to him recommending Red Headed Stranger, for instance, to get the most enjoyment out of looking at Van Gogh’s self-portraits. The sativa strain “envelops you in a light, foggy feeling of flight” that will allow the artist’s brushstrokes to “wash over you while you take in his Neo-Impressionist approach to color,” according to a passage in Chapter 1. A stereotype-free zone And another potential misconception: “High Art” is not 136 pages of stoner clichés. “I purposely stayed away from the cheap weed jokes,” Lambrechts said. “And I don’t make fun of the art or the artists, but I do take shots at high-minded, stuffy art criticism,” he added. The book, a collaboration with McCann New York creative Estefanio Holtz, also includes info-rich sections on CBD, terpenes, topicals and vapes, along with a recipe for spicy cannabis-infused avocado toast (a good accompaniment for a 19th century Francois Aubert photograph) and a mini-botany lesson on indigenous strains like Afghan Kush. Brands like Kiva Confections, Lagunitas Hi-Fi Hops and Evergreen Organix get name-dropped, though there are no product placement deals behind the cameos. Lambrechts used mostly royalty-free art because of the book’s small budget. An advertising advantage Lambrechts, who cops to first trying weed as a teenager in the midwest in the '90s, said his ad background helped him be succinct and quippy for High Art, which taught him not to trash an idea just because a client gave it a thumbs down. “It was passed over by a brand, but it still had potential and power,” he said. “That’s a lesson learned. We’re in the ideas business, and even if one person doesn’t like it, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.”

Alcohol Industry News

This Book From an Ad Creative Teaches You How to Pair Cannabis With Specific Art Styles

Rob Lambrechts' High Art matches great works with the strains that can help decode them

A resurrected pitch

T.L. Stanley

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A resurrected pitch

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T.L. Stanley