Good evening, readers.
I spy with my little i...
The wonderful Brion Gysin was a writer, painter, filmmaker and restaurateur. He was a friend and collaborator to William S. Burroughs. Burroughs said of Gysin, “He was the only man I have ever respected.”
If you are a frequent reader of these posts, you are no doubt already familiar with Gysin. However, despite several recent publications and a new tour of his visual art, the man remains elusive.
We were really excited to find this footage of the master at work. This video is from a late ’80′s pirate TV show out of London, England called Network 21. This is a rare chance to see Gysin’s paintings come to life as he rolls out patterns and grids before piling on layers of text and calligraphy.
The man has a way with a line…
Here is the entire episode which also features Kenny Morris talking about dreams and Genet; a Mayakovski film; a photoshoot with the Rolling Stones in drag; footage from a tattoo convention in 1985; an excerpt from Warhol’s “Trash” with Joe Dallessandro and The Sex Pistols’ famous appearance on the Bill Gundy show.
Enjoy!
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WOW!
That’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time! While we can see lots of stuff at our whim on the internet, nothing beats artful arrangement, juxtaposition and other techniques from the golden age of freakout video.
I have to confess to some ignorance of some of the bands seen performing. Who was the one after the dream confession and who was the one towards the end with the drummers and hanging hogs?
Nice find! Would love to see more!
I am a bit clueless myself, but I love the juxtaposition. I love this whole aesthetic. It makes me want to get really creative with public access.
Your site looks great btw. Thanks for the comment!
mm bookmarked