Dreamachine

Brion Gysin (Creator)

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Work description by Elisabeth Fritz

The Dreamachine is considered to be the first object designed to be experienced with closed eyes. The cylinder, which contains a light bulb inside, has slits on the sides and rotates on a turntable. The flickering strobocopic effect is intended to trigger a trance-like state and intense psychedelic visions of colorful patterns and shapes. The machine was constructed in the 1960s by the Beatnik artist Brion Gysin and the mathematician Ian Sommerville, who, inspired by literature on neurophysiology, experimented with influ- encing brain activity. Patented as a method and device for producing artistic sensations, the Dreamachine has had a great influence on literature, film, performance and pop culture, and was used by William S. Burroughs, Jonas Mekas, Tony Conrad, and Andy Warhol, among others.

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