Brion Gysin

A multifaceted artist who worked in painting, sound, and poetry, among other forms, Brion Gysin experimented restlessly throughout his influential career. The Beats, David Bowie, Keith Haring, and William S. Burroughs are among the many artists, musicians, and writers who cite Gysin as an influence. His oeuvre includes abstract paintings based on Japanese and Arabic calligraphy, as well as views of the Sahara inspired by his trip to the region in 1938. In 1959, Gysin created the “Cut-Up Method,” which entails cutting words and phrases into fragments and then rearranging them to create new meanings. He undertook these experiments together with his longtime friend and collaborator, Burroughs. This spirit of invention and reconfiguration fed into Gysin’s work with sound and his co-creation of the Dream Machine, a kinetic light sculpture that produces a flickering effect meant to be experienced with closed eyes.