Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin (19 January 1916 – 13 July 1986) was a British-Canadian painter, writer, sound poet, performance artist and inventor of experimental devices. He is best known for his use of the cut-up technique, alongside his close friend, the novelist William S. Burroughs. With the engineer Ian Sommerville he also invented the Dreamachine, a flicker device designed as an art object to be viewed with the eyes closed. It was in painting and drawing, however, that Gysin devoted his greatest efforts, creating calligraphic works inspired by cursive Japanese "grass" script and Arabic script. Burroughs later stated that "Brion Gysin was the only man I ever respected."
Ornette: Made in America
as SelfShirley Clarke's frenetic documentary about multi-talented musician Ornette Coleman.
Movie pageBurroughs: The Movie
as SelfAn exploration of Burroughs’ life story, as told by Burroughs himself along with many of his...
Movie pageThe Cut-Ups
as uncreditedEssentially a dizzying montage of quirky shots of legendary Beat Generation writer William S....
Movie pageFLicKeR
as Self (archive footage)In 1960, Brion Gysin invented the Dream Machine, a hypnotic light device with the power to...
Movie pageThe Dream Machine
as uncreditedA 16mm anthology of experimental super 8 films by Derek Jarman, Michael Kostiff, Cerith Wyn...
Movie pagePsychic TV: First Transmission
as uncreditedFor over 30 years, the so-called First Transmission video from Psychic TV, has been the stuff...
Movie pageGhost at No. 9
as uncreditedExperimental artistic film which uses the milieu of experimental art with a background of...
Movie pageDestroy All Rational Thought
as SelfThe great Beat Generation experiments took place in Tangier, the Moroccan city where William...
Movie pageThe Final Academy Documents
as uncreditedDocumentation of the showcase titled 'The Final Academy', filmed on October 4, 1982 in The...
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