Dreamachine Plans

of
Brion Gysin
"Had a transcendental storm of colour visions today in
the bus going to Marseilles. We ran through a long
avenue of trees and I closed my eyes against the setting
sun. An overwhelming flood of intensely bright colors
exploded behind my eyelids: a multidimensional
kaleidoscope whirling out through space. I was swept
out of time. I was out in a world of infinite number. The
vision stopped abruptly as we left the trees. Was that a
vision? What happened to me?"
Extract from the diary of
Brion Gysin
December 21, 1958

Brion Gysin found the explanation for this unusual experience a few years later when William S.
Burroughs lent him a copy of The Living Brain by Dr. W. Grey Walter. Dr. Walter was a
neurophysiologist and an early researcher into the nature of brain waves and corresponding brain
function. Ian Sommerville, a friend of Gysin and Burroughs, had also read the book.
Sommerville decided to build a machine to reproduce the flickering effect that Gysin had
described. On February 15, 1959 Sommerville wrote to Gysin from Cambridge,
"I have made a simple flicker machine. You look at it with your eyes shut and the flicker
plays over your eyelids. Visions start with a kaleidoscope of colors on a plane in front of
the eyes and gradually become more complex and beautiful, breaking like surf on a shore
until whole patterns of color are pounding to get in. After awhile the visions were
permanently behind my eyelids and I was in the middle of the whole scene with limitless
patterns being generated around me. There was an almost unbearable feeling of spatial
movement for a while but It was well worth getting through for I found that when it
stopped I was high above the earth in a universal blaze of glory. Afterwards I found that
my perception of the world around me had increased very notably. All conceptions of
being dragged or tired had dropped away..."
From Sommerville's description of the flicker machine Brion Gysin built the Dreamachine in the
early 1960's in the Beat Hotel on the rue Gît-le-Cœur, Paris. Gysin obtained a patent in 1961.
The results of the experiments were published in the arts periodical of Olympia, Number 2,
January 1962.
The Dreamachine consists of a cylinder with holes in it attached to a record-player turntable. In
the middle of the cylinder sits a light bulb. The turntable is set to spin at 78 RPM. Subjects sit in
front of the cylinder and close their eyes. The light shines through the holes in the spinning
cylinder and flickers on the eyelids. The light flickers at a frequency of about 20 Hz which is
similar to the frequency of Alpha brain waves which are associated with a non-aroused brain.

Plans
C lick to en larg e.

C lick to en larg e.
 The Truth Shall Make You Free.

Materials
· 34"x32" piece of heavy paper or cardboard for the Dreamachine light-shade. You should
use a material that is stiff, but flexible enough to be rolled into a tube with the ends glued
together.

· 16"x12" piece of heavy paper or cardboard for making templates. This will be cut into
five 8"x4" cards for making templates.

· 78 RPM record-player turntable.

 · A bare hanging light bulb. Wattage will vary depending on how bright a light you prefer.
Try 15 to 50 watts.

Construction
Photocopy the five templates (A, B, C, D, and E) and then paste the copies onto 8"x4" cards
cut from the heavy template card stock. Then cut out and discard the designs to form the
template cards.
Divide the light-shade paper into a 2-inch grid as shown on the overall plan.
Trace the template designs onto the light-shade paper following the grid sequence from the
overall plan.
Cut out and discard the designs from the light-shade paper. These form the slots that the light
will shine through.
Cut and trim the two long ends of the light-shade paper to form the glue tabs as seen in the
overall plan. Note that the pattern length should be just under 34 inches. When the pattern
is rolled into a tube its circumference should be 32 inches since the tabs overlap.
Roll the light-shade paper into a tube and overlap the glue tabs. The tabs should be
positioned on the inside of the tube, rather than the outside. Glue the tabs to the inside
surface of the tube.
Place the Dreamachine light-shade on a 78 RPM turntable.
Suspend the light bulb 1/3 to 1/2 down the inside of the light-shade. The light should be in
the center of the tube and not touch the edges.

Using the Dreamachine

Turn on the light bulb and set the light-shade tube in motion. Dim the normal room lights so that
most of the ambient light comes from the Dreamachine. Sit comfortably with your face close to
the center of the tube. Now close your eyes. You should be able to see the light from the
Dreamachine flickering through your eyelids. Gradually you will begin to see visions of
flickering colors, amorphous shapes, and fields and waves of color. After a time the colors begin
to form patterns similar to mosaics and kaleidoscopes. Eventually you will see complex and
symbolic shapes; perhaps people or animals.

Notes/Variations
This device will produce a flicker frequency of 20.8 Hz when rotated at 78 RPM. This device
may be hazardous to people with epilepsy or other nervous disorders.
If you have trouble getting an old 78 RPM. turntable then you can make use of a 45 RPM.
turntable by adding 12 extra columns of slots. This makes the pattern 24 inches longer and will
result in a tube diameter of 17 inches. This is bigger than the platter of most turntables. You can
either scale the entire pattern down by half or you can try placing an 18-inch disk on the
turntable for the tube to rest on. The wider tube will produce a flicker frequency of 21 Hz when
rotated at 45 RPM.