Gysin, Brion.

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Brion Gysin was born on January 19, 1916, in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England. Gysin first established himself as a painter, attending the Sorbonne from 1934-1935 and associating with figures such as Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy, and Salvador Dali. In 1935 he participated in the Surrealist Drawing Exhibitions, although his work was withdrawn by Surrealist founder Andre Breton. Gysin also attended the University of Bordeaux from 1949-1952 and Archivos de India at the University of Seville from 1952-1953. In 1939 he held the first single-artist exhibition of paintings at Galerie Quatre Chemins, Paris. A year later, Gysin immigrated to the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1945. He worked in New York City as an assistant costume designer before moving to New Jersey to work as a welder in the shipyards. He was drafted into the United States Army during World War II; after the war ended he received one of the first Fulbright fellowships and traveled to Tangier, Morocco. Gysin is best known for inventing "cut-ups," a technique in which words are clipped from printed material such as newspapers and randomly arranged. His later innovations included permutated poems, in which a computer program rearranged six-word lines into all their possible combinations. Gysin also co-invented the Dreamachine with Ian Sommerville, collaborated on numerous works of poetry, film, and sound recordings with William Burroughs, and published two critically acclaimed historical narratives on slavery. Gysin died on July 13, 1986, in Paris, France.

From the description of Brion Gysin collection, 1939-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 213077042

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Bowles, Paul, 1910-1999. Letters to Brion Gysin [manuscript], 1975-1978. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. Autograph note signed : [n.p.], to Brion [Gysin], 1975 May 8. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Dillon, Millicent. Papers, 1905-1990 (bulk 1935-1986). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Cleverdon mss. II, 1926-1988 Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
creatorOf William S. Burroughs Papers Ohio State University Libraries
creatorOf Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. Manuscripts removed from Minutes to Go, 1959-1960. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn William S. Burroughs papers, 1951-1972, 1958-1972 The New York Public Library. Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature.
creatorOf GYSIN, BRION. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
referencedIn Cohen, Ira. A dissolute life spent in the service of Allah / Ira Cohen. Ohio State University Libraries
creatorOf Williams, Emmett,. Concrete poetry archives, early 1940's-1967. G-L. Library of Congress
referencedIn New Yorker records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Carl Weissner Archive, 1965-1973 Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections
referencedIn Nin, Anaïs, 1903-1977. Anaïs Nin papers, 1969-1991. The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library
referencedIn Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. William S. Burroughs Collection of Papers, 1951-1972 bulk (1958-1972). New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Toklas, Alice B. Alice B. Toklas correspondence 1933-1961. The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library
creatorOf Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. Papers, [ca. 1953-ca. 1985]. Ohio State University Libraries
creatorOf Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. Letters, 1980, to Brion Gysin. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Paul Bowles letter to Michael Fordyce, circa 1950-1959 University of Delaware Library - Special Collections
creatorOf Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. Collection of autograph and typed letters signed : London, New York, etc., to Brion Gysin, 1964-1980 1973-1976. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Pelieu, Claude. Claude Pelieu collection, 1953-1974. Arizona State University Libraries
creatorOf Gysin, Brion. Brion Gysin collection, 1939-1980. Emory University. Special Collections and Archives
creatorOf Bowles, Paul, 1910-1999. Paul Bowles Collection, 1897-1995. Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Harold Matson Company, Inc. (New York, N.Y.). Harold Matson Company, Inc. Records, 1937-1980. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Lotringer, Sylvère. Sylvere Lotringer Papers and Semiotext(e) Archive 1960-2000 (Bulk 1973-2000). Fales Library & Special Collections
referencedIn Sylvere Lotringer Papers and Semiotext(e) Archive, Bulk, 1973-2000, 1960-2000 Fales Library & Special Collections
creatorOf Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. [Dreamachine] [realia] / [Steven Lowe : William S. Burroughs]. Nolan, Norton & Company, Incorporated
creatorOf Gysin, Brion. Photograph of Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville, n.d. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Cleverdon, Douglas. Papers, 1953-1973. Indiana University
referencedIn Bowles, Paul, 1910-1999. Papers concerning the publication of "Concerto for two pianos, winds and percussion" [manuscript], 1985-1989. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. William S. Burroughs collection, 1938- Arizona State University Libraries
creatorOf Bowles, Paul, 1910-. Typed letter signed : Tangier, Morocco, to Brion Gysin, 1974 Dec. 20. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. William S. Burroughs Papers, WSB97 [ca. 1945-ca. 1984]. Ohio State University Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
correspondedWith Bowles, Paul, 1910-1999 person
associatedWith Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997. person
associatedWith Cleverdon, Douglas. person
associatedWith Cohen, Ira. person
associatedWith Dillon, Millicent. person
associatedWith Harold Matson Company, Inc. (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Lotringer, Sylvère person
associatedWith Lotringer, Sylvère. person
correspondedWith New Yorker Magazine, Inc corporateBody
associatedWith Nin, Anaïs, 1903-1977. person
associatedWith Pelieu, Claude. person
associatedWith Sommerville, Ian. person
associatedWith Toklas, Alice B. person
associatedWith Weissner, Carl person
Place Name Admin Code Country
France
United States
Paris (France)
France--Paris
Africa
Spain
Morocco
Tangier (Morocco)
Morocco--Tangier
Subject
American literature
Authors, American
Artists
Expatriate authors
Beat generation
Expatriate artists
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1916-01-19

Death 1986-07-13

Britons

English

Information

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Ark ID: w6w100nr

SNAC ID: 13251222