The New Museum’s Fresh Perspective on Art

Brion Gysin and His Dream Machine

The New Museum in the Bowery has an exterior design resembling gigantic building blocks stacked up haphazardly serving as a reminder that there is still an edge in modern art that didn’t stop with Andy Warhol. The museum is “New” because all its art is bleeding edge and there’s no permanent collection. In addition to the galleries ever-changing exhibits, the Museum as Hub on the 5th floor, serves as the museum’s educational center and exhibits institutional partnerships with Insa Art Space (Seoul, South Korea); Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporneo (Mexico City, Mexico); Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art (Cairo, Egypt); and Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven, Netherlands).

From now until October 3^rd, the museum is exhibiting Brion Gysin‘s work on the second floor showcasing his Dream Machine, a kinetic light sculpture that utilizes the flicker effect to induce visions when experienced with closed eyes. In 1959, Gysin created the Cut-Up Method, using words and phrases cut up into pieces and rearranged untethering them from their readily apparent meanings revealing new ones. His Cut-Up experiments, which he shared with his lifelong friend and collaborator William S. Burroughs, culminated in a book entitled The Third Mind.

Furthering this medium, he also experimented with tape-recorded poems manipulated by a computer algorithm creating sound poetry. From the ’60s through the ’80s, Gysin would continue his collaborations, and prove to be a mentor for artists and musicians ranging from John Giorno to Brian Jones, and Patti Smith to David Bowie. This exhibit also includes over 300 drawings, books, paintings, photo-collages, films, and sound works by Gysin.

Museum Info: Mon and Tues closed, Wed 11 AM – 6 PM, Thurs 11 AM – 9 PM, Fri / Sat / Sun 11 AM – 6 PM
Admission $12, Free Thursday from 7-9 p.m.

By Subway: Take the J/M to the Bowery Station and walk 2 blocks up to # 235 between Stanton and Rivington Streets

photo courtesy of New Museum