going to see flicker on friday night. looking forward to that a lot.
SUMMARY FILM CONTACTS
FLicKeR
[FLICK]
Canadian Images (Canada, 2008, 75 mins)
Beta SP
Directed By: Nik Sheehan
EXEC PROD: Silva Basmajian (NFB)
PRODS: Maureen Judge, Anita Lee (NFB)
SCR: Nik Sheehan
CAM: Harald Bachmann
EDS: Caroline Christie, Miume Jan Eramo, Steve Weslak
MUS: Edmund Eagan
Cast: Brion Gysin, Marianne Faithfull, Lee Ranaldo, William S. Burroughs, Iggy Pop, Kenneth Anger
In 1958, while on a train, Brion Gysin experienced a strange psycho/physiological phenomenon: sunlight flickering through the trees as the train sped along induced a kind of euphoria; a drugless high... Gysin was compelled to invent a machine recreating his experience, one capable of producing the same effect in other viewers. A radical artist and contemporary of the Beat Generation, Gysin's "dream machine" was meant to explore consciousness and to plumb the possibilities of the human brain. Though never successfully marketed to the public, the dream machine reached cult-like status in the artistic underground. Director Nik Sheehan uses Gysin's magical machine as the basis for a philosophical exploration of art's potential and the role of the artist. Was the dream machine simply inducing a physiological response, or is it capable of provoking transcendent visions?
Visiting those who knew Gysin, Sheehan delves into the avant-garde world that produced such greats as Gysin's close friend and collaborator William S. Burroughs. Gysin's wide scope of ideas inspired not only the Beats, but also the artists succeeding them, many of whom share their diverse thoughts on Gysin's work, including: Marianne Faithfull, Iggy Pop, Genesis P-Orridge (Psychic TV), and Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth). As one Gysin follower put it, "art doesn't stop when you close your eyes," and neither do the questions Sheehan raises in his rich examination of an artist whose ideas about art and consciousness were radical and influential.
Screening Schedule
Fri, Oct 3rd 9:30pm
Pacific Cinémathéque
$10.00
