Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin (January 19th 1916 - July 13rd 1986) was writer and painter.
He is known to have rédécouvert the technique of the cut-up of Tristan Tzara. He shared this discovery with his friend William S. Burroughs, who made a great use of it.
Gysin helped Burroughs with the edition of several of its novels, and wrote a manuscript for a cinematographic version of the " Nu" feast; (The Naked Lunch) but which produced forever. Both collaborated on a large manuscript for Groove Close entitled The Third Mind (the Third Spirit) but it proved that it would be been impossible to publish it as in the beginning considered. The book published later under this same title included little of this material.
Gysin employed the technique of the cut-up to produce what it called " poems permutés" , in which a simple sentence was repeated several times, with the words rearranged in a different order with each reiteration.
Several of these permutations were produced using a data-processing random generator programmed by Ian Sommerville.
It also tested with the Permutation of recordings on magnetic band, by cutting out and resticking together the noises of a gun recorded with various amplitudes in the studio of BBC, producing the " Pistol Poem". This recording was later employed like topic in 1960 for the Parisian performance " The Poétique" Field; , a display for experimental work people like Gysin, Francoise Dufrêne, Bernard Heidsieck and Henri Chopin.
He worked intensively with the saxophonist jazz Steve Lacy.
With the beginning of the year 1960, it builds, with Ian Sommerville, the Dreamachine, a supposed device being looked with the closed eyes.
Decorated about Knight with Arts and Letters in 1985.
Deceased on July 16th, 1986 in its apartment in Paris, following a lung cancer.