Dreamachine

Invention

Dreamachine is a work of the artist Brion Gysin and the scientist Ian Sommerville. It is an experiment which Brion Gysin lived in 1958 which led it to conceive Dreamachine. He says in his newspaper to the entry of the December 21st 1958:

Had has transcendental storm off color drunk visions today in the going to Marseilles. We ran though has long closed avenue off trees and I my eyes against the setting sun. Year overwhelming flood off intensely bright colors exploded behind my eyelids: multi-dimensional kaleidoscope whirling out through space has. I was swept out off time. I was out in has world off number infinity. The vision stopped abruptly ace we left the trees. I had an outburst transcendantal visions coloured today, in the bus, while going to Marseilles. We rolled on a long avenue bordered of trees and I closed the eyes in the sleeping sun when an irresistible flood of drawings of supernatural colors of an intense luminosity exploded behind my eyelids, a multidimensional kaleidoscope whirling through space. I was swept out of time. I was in an infinite world… The vision ceased abruptly when we left the arbres.

In 1960, Brion Gysin speaks with his/her friend Ian Sommerville about the possibility of reproducing the phenomenon which led it to have these visions. The February 15th 1960, Ian Sommerville answers him and says to him to have made a simple machine with luminous impulses with a perforated paper cylinder and a turntable of 78 turns per minute. They tried out several cuttings for the machine, that Gysin named Dreamachine then. The results of their experiments were published in number 2 of the magazine Olympia , in January 1962.

Operation

In its original form, Dreamachine consists of a cylinder presenting of the slits on its sides. The cylinder is placed on a Phonographe which turns to 78 or 45 turns per minute. A bulb is suspended inside the cylinder of which the number of revolutions and the number of slits make that the emitted light crosses the slits to a constant Fréquence located between 8 and 13 impulses a second. This beach of frequencies corresponds to that of the waves alpha normally present in the brain during relieving.

Use

Dreamachine " regarde" with the closed eyes: the luminous impulses stimulate the Optical nerve and modify the frequency of the electric impulses of the brain. The user can then see appearing complex reasons for colors, with the increasing luminosity, behind his closed eyelids. These reasons can become whirling forms and symbols, until the user feels submerged colors. This experiment can be very intense, but to put an end to it, the user of the machine has only to reopen the eyes.

Dreamachine can prove to be dangerous at the people reached of epilepsy or others turbid highly-strung persons. It is thought that an adult person on dix-mille is susceptbible to be reached of an brain attack during the use of the machine. This number is doubled with regard to the children.

Other uses

In works of art of Frederick Roland Emett.
the group of Rock to the Latin influences The Mars Volta uses a dreamachine during its concerts. It is located behind the beater.

References

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