How to make cut ups in an online era

[catalog]

I was in the bath after taking mushrooms listening to this



And thinking about how it was likely a newspaper headline. Then my mind just wandering onto newspaper headlines. How they are probsbly hard to make, there's a genius or knack to it. And then how Burroughs really zeroed in on newspapers as a format with which to generate cut ups. Like he chose that.

2 days later my friend sends me this

Dreamachine | A new, one-of-a-kind immersive experience

Dreamachine is an experience like no other. Join us on a magical journey through music and light to experience a colourful world unfolding behind your closed eyes, created by your own brain and completely unique to you.

dreamachine.world

Dreamachine is inspired by an extraordinary but little-known 1959 invention by artist–inventor Brion Gysin.
His experimental homemade device used flickering light to create vivid illusions, kaleidoscopic patterns and explosions of colour in the mind of the viewer.

Designed to be the ‘first artwork to be experienced with your eyes closed’, Gysin had a pioneering vision for his invention to replace the television in every home in America. Instead of passive consumers of mass-produced media, viewers of his Dreamachine would create their own cinematic experiences.

Gysin died before his vision could be realised, but his idea to use technology to reconnect us with our inner lives remains just as radical, and relevant, today.

So I was just wondering about interesting examples of the cut up process in an online era.

I suppose youtube is the obvious one, how titles like "X DESTROYS Y" have become commonplace.

But what else?

 

[Clinamenic]

I've made a couple dreamachines, albeit half-scale ones which didn't seem to work. I can try to track down photos.

 

[Clinamenic]

You could argue that the feeds generated by social media recommendation algorithms are cut-ups, in that they are sequencing content alongside content, in ways which were unintended by the content creators.

 

[Murphy]

I was in the bath after taking mushrooms listening to this



And thinking about how it was likely a newspaper headline. Then my mind just wandering onto newspaper headlines. How they are probsbly hard to make, there's a genius or knack to it. And then how Burroughs really zeroed in on newspapers as a format with which to generate cut ups. Like he chose that.

2 days later my friend sends me this

Dreamachine | A new, one-of-a-kind immersive experience

Dreamachine is an experience like no other. Join us on a magical journey through music and light to experience a colourful world unfolding behind your closed eyes, created by your own brain and completely unique to you.

dreamachine.world

So I was just wondering about interesting examples of the cut up process in an online era.

I suppose youtube is the obvious one, how titles like "X DESTROYS Y" have become commonplace.

But what else?

was curious about trying to get to venue hosting such events but it never came together

musically the Hafler Trio can nail juxtaposition although AM’s editing technique is not something i’m familiar with, put another way he/it can sound like layered cut ups eg Thirsty Fish which is a superb head floss

there’s a series of newish AM interviews online, re Dream Machine, cut ups, Burroughs, Gysin, Academy 23, working with Chris Watson et al, and even with a tendency towards pretentiousness might be worth exploring

 

[woops]

was curious about trying to get to venue hosting such events but it never came together

musically the Hafler Trio can nail juxtaposition although AM’s editing technique is not something i’m familiar with, put another way he/it can sound like layered cut ups eg Thirsty Fish which is a superb head floss

there’s a series of newish AM interviews online, re Dream Machine, cut ups, Burroughs, Gysin, Academy 23, working with Chris Watson et al, and even with a tendency towards pretentiousness might be worth exploring

give us a link then

 

[Murphy]

Voila, engage skim read mode where he drones about himself

About Andrew M. McKenzie. Q&A part one. Gysin, ’80s counterculture, TOPY and more | Brion Gysin

Artist Andrew M. McKenzie answers questions about his life and work. Includes: Brion Gysin, 1980s counterculture, Cabaret Voltaire and more.

www.briongysin.com

The ’80s Dreamachine project. Andrew M. McKenzie Q&A part two | Brion Gysin

Andrew M. McKenzie spoke to CTS Ryan about meeting Brion Gysin and the '80s scene that his version of the Dreamachine emerged from.

www.briongysin.com

essentially part three, can’t find 4 (kids are going mental) but for now

His Name Was Master, the book. Andrew M. McKenzie Q&A part three | Brion Gysin

Andrew McKenzie tells us about the book he edited: Brion Gysin - His Name Was Master, and why it took thirty years for the book to appear.

www.briongysin.com

overview, you‘ve all mostly digested content already

Cut ups | Brion Gysin

www.briongysin.com

 

[version]

I'd have thought the chief example would be memes. They can be made of any combination of words, sounds and images and they're being generated at an absurd rate and scale.

 

[catalog]

I suppose tiktok is the extreme but is there anyone doing cut up and fold in memes on tiktok. That's what I mean, is there someone intentionally doing it, well.

 

[catalog]

But yeah, all those people who pull out bits from films, interviews, present them with some text, that's all part of it. But I mean I want thd extrmeem form of thzt, cut ups and fold ons of it. Can't think I've seen that.

 

[woops]

Voila, engage skim read mode where he drones about himself

About Andrew M. McKenzie. Q&A part one. Gysin, ’80s counterculture, TOPY and more | Brion Gysin

Artist Andrew M. McKenzie answers questions about his life and work. Includes: Brion Gysin, 1980s counterculture, Cabaret Voltaire and more.

www.briongysin.com

The ’80s Dreamachine project. Andrew M. McKenzie Q&A part two | Brion Gysin

Andrew M. McKenzie spoke to CTS Ryan about meeting Brion Gysin and the '80s scene that his version of the Dreamachine emerged from.

www.briongysin.com

essentially part three, can’t find 4 (kids are going mental) but for now

His Name Was Master, the book. Andrew M. McKenzie Q&A part three | Brion Gysin

Andrew McKenzie tells us about the book he edited: Brion Gysin - His Name Was Master, and why it took thirty years for the book to appear.

www.briongysin.com

overview, you‘ve all mostly digested content already

Cut ups | Brion Gysin

www.briongysin.com

feast of link

 

[william_kent]

wow, Hafler Trio dude is full of shit ( I only read the dream machine article, I might be being a bit harsh here )

It might surprise some of you, but I once built and owned a fully functioning dreammachine

a flat move resulted in it getting slightly crushed, and my cats also thought it was a climbing device, which resulted in it's eventual demise

but..

"lessons learned":

it used to be hard, and I presume it still is, to find a turntable that plays at 78 rpm at an affordable price

finding an art supply store that stocked a piece of card large enough was tricky, but Manchester provides ( we're talking larger than A1 here )

dangling a lightbulb into the tube can also be a bit of arse

a scalpel is a must ( No Millwall jokes! ) ( in the 70s they weren't afraid of wearing surgical masks! ) ( The Treatment... ) **

once I got it going though, free psychedelia

contrary to the "Throbbing Gristle - Heathen Earth is the best dream machine music" myth propagated by...Throbbing Gristle, in fact I got the best results from these:

side two of Les Maitres-Tambours Du Burundi



Les Maitres-Tambours Du Burundi - Suite De Danses Et D'Appels Rituelles

and

the entirety of side two of 23 Skidoo - Urban Gamelan



23 Skidoo - Urban Gamelan part 1

which reminds me of the time of when Sid Rawls, "king of the hippies", was hogging the joint and pontificating in our front room about how we should all be working in the fields for a "greener future" ( a bit rich coming from someone who had never done a days work in his life, R.I.P ) and I stuck the 23 Skidoo album on and the woman fromTipi Valley who wanted her kitten to be vegan* turned to me and said "the drums are telling a story" and I had to bite my lip

but anyway, dream machines work, within limits... it's hard to maintain posture when your inner vision is a jumble of kaleidoscopic shapes which whirl and reconfigure into film like visions... and all you want to do is lie down and wallow in the imagery, but moving from the light removes you from the alternate reality you had almost been propelled into...

having said that, if I could find the template and blueprints again ( they're in a cupboard ), I'd consider building one again

* the kitten ran away, probably because it didn't want to go blind from lack of meat - cats are built differently from us humans who can choose to be vegetarian or vegan, or horror of horrors, opt for a "plant based diet" ( I'm vegetarian but can't stand the "plant based" shit, anyone who talks about their diet being "plant based" should just admit they're veggie or vegan, ffs, are you ashamed or something? )

** full disclosure - when we moved south from Scotland, my brother became "Millwall", and when I last saw him his wife gave me the book her friend had written ( One Eyed Baz ), and asked me to read it for her, and there was a chapter about Birmingham vs Millwall which I had to read out aloud and my brother could confirm that Baz was reporting events correctly... he was the one guy from Millwall who had to make his way back from the ground to 'The Fort', a notorious estate on the outskirts of Birmingham, sort of like The Warriors but solo

 

[Clinamenic]

wow, Hafler Trio dude is full of shit ( I only read the dream machine article, I might be being a bit harsh here )

It might surprise some of you, but I once built and owned a fully functioning dreammachine

a flat move resulted in it getting slightly crushed, and my cats also thought it was a climbing device, which resulted in it's eventual demise

but..

"lessons learned":

it used to be hard, and I presume it still is, to find a turntable that plays at 78 rpm at an affordable price

finding an art supply store that stocked a piece of card large enough was tricky, but Manchester provides ( we're talking larger than A1 here )

dangling a lightbulb into the tube can also be a bit of arse

a scalpel is a must ( No Millwall jokes! ) ( in the 70s they weren't afraid of wearing surgical masks! ) ( The Treatment... )

once I got it going though, free psychedelia

contrary to the "Throbbing Gristle - Heathen Earth is the best dream machine music" myth propagated by...Throbbing Gristle, in fact I got the best results from these:

side two of Les Maitres-Tambours Du Burundi



Les Maitres-Tambours Du Burundi - Suite De Danses Et D'Appels Rituelles

and

the entirety of side two of 23 Skidoo - Urban Gamelan



23 Skidoo - Urban Gamelan part 1

which reminds me of the time of when Sid Rawls, "king of the hippies", was hogging the joint and pontificating in our front room about how we should all be working in the fields for a "greener future" ( a bit rich coming from someone who had never done a days work in his life, R.I.P ) and I stuck the 23 Skidoo album on and the woman fromTipi Valley who wanted her kitten to be vegan* turned to me and said "the drums are telling a story" and I had to bite my lip

but anyway, dream machines work, within limits... it's hard to maintain posture when your inner vision is a jumble of kaleidoscopic shapes which whirl and reconfigure into film like visions... and all you want to do is lie down and wallow in the imagery, but moving from the light removes you from the alternate reality you had almost been propelled into...

having said that, if I could find the template and blueprints again ( they're in a cupboard ), I'd consider building one again

* the kitten ran away, probably because it didn't want to go blind from lack of meat - cats are built differently from us humans who can choose to be vegetarian or vegan, or horror of horrors, opt for a "plant based diet" ( I'm vegetarian but can't stand the "plant based" shit, anyone who talks about their diet being "plant based" should just admit they're veggie or vegan, ffs, are you ashamed or something? )

Yeah I ended up making two half-scale ones, because of the difficulties you mentioned regarding finding a piece of cardstock that large. I also vaguely remember reading that it was supposed to be made out of a metal sheet? Not sure if that would make much of a difference. For the light I would use one of those thin, wiring lamps and just bend the light down into the tube. And I would tape/fasten the tube on one of those foam turntable discs.

 

[Clinamenic]

And for one of them, I actually implemented the cut-up idea by cutting a bunch of old receipts up into slivers of text, and taping them within the interior wall of the tube, so that it would function like a zootrope, with incoherent flashes of random text, but that obviously required you to keep your eyes open.

 

[william_kent]

Yeah I ended up making two half-scale ones, because of the difficulties you mentioned regarding finding a piece of cardstock that large. I also vaguely remember reading that it was supposed to be made out of a metal sheet? Not sure if that would make much of a difference. For the light I would use one of those thin, wiring lamps and just bend the light down into the tube. And I would tape/fasten the tube on one of those foam turntable discs.

I butchered a lamp and had a bit of wire suspended from a piece of metal so that the lightbulb could dangle in the centre, somewhere above the spindle

the commercial art pieces were metal, but thick card seemed to do the trick, but as we can both agree, finding anywhere that can supply anything over A1 in size requires a bit of work

was hard getting it home on the bus in one piece as well - almost as bad as the time I bought a 3.5 foot gong and then had to trail around various shops with it

 

[Clinamenic]

was hard getting it home on the bus in one piece as well

Haha kind of the opposite situation for me, namely getting rid of it. The one I built in college I got rid of by just putting it in the elevator and sending it down to the ground floor.

 

[william_kent]

Haha kind of the opposite situation for me, namely getting rid of it. The one I built in college I got rid of by just putting it in the elevator and sending it down to the ground floor.

that was the card that was hard to get home

but

like I might have mentioned, my last surviving cat destroyed my dream machine by clambering up it and flexing her claws...

 

[Clinamenic]

Now I want to make another one... What other cool twists could we do?

 

[william_kent]

I'm tempted to make another one as well... still got some of the bits and pieces, just missing the actual cylinder

mine was painted on the inside with a crappy wannabe Gysin rip off grid design, but I wouldn't bother with decorating the interior if I built one again, it's all about the closed eye visuals

 

[Clinamenic]

I'm tempted to make another one as well... still got some of the bits and pieces, just missing the actual cylinder

mine was painted on the inside with a crappy wannabe Gysin rip off grid design, but I wouldn't bother with decorating the interior if I built one again, it's all about the closed eye visuals

Could still look cool as a party feature, like a cylindrical disco ball.

 

[Clinamenic]

We can recuperate the dreamachine into a mere disco tube.