ANON | DOSSIERS | APTITUDE

cut-ups.

Apparently, almost three decades since Gysin's cut-up technique was first introduced (via Burroughs, largely), the technique of the "cut-up" still remains a mystery to some. A fairly simple technique though often misunderstood, it functions as an aid to new ideas. A creativity kick-start, not an end in itself.

Take various sources of text, cut and rearrange. The result is not the end, although parts of it may be useful "as is". Reading over the new pre-processed text, you'll be inspired to create your narrative, or it may inspire other avenues of utility.

An example:

Take books off the shelves that seemingly echo aspects of the idea you want to germinate and manifest. If I want to create something having to do with extraterrestrials, I may pull the Koran, Outer Gateways, The 120 Days of Sodom and Horror Hospital Unplugged from my shelves.

Open the books to randomly chosen pages and set them atop one another.

Type sentences from the open books in as random a fashion as possible, ignoring punctuation and grammatical syntax as you type.

The resulting text may look like this (a short example only):
those who disbelieve behold a manifestation of your subconscious desires that was all there was to it no fingerings no kisses the child in the egg is the magical manikin by nature upright and he was not that i have anything against relationships at the second supper proud ostentation

You may then write your own narrative based on this text:
Despite the pride of the cowboy, he was fingered like a department store dummy in the egg-shaped craft. He stood upright, unable to move, and was surrounded by beings who appeared just like the spindly drawings he'd seen in movies and TV. He was surprisingly calm, as though this was an expected chore he had to endure.

The writing in step 5 is off-the-cuff. I didn't have any intent beforehand, just a short idea around an alien theme. Reading over the cut-up inspired the idea of a cowboy stuck in a bad ET scenario.

There are other ways to do it of course. You can cut articles from the newspaper, pasting them together in new arrangements, adding photographs etc. as a montage from which you can draw out inspirations for your own creative endeavors.

There are ways to use common word processing programs (inserting text files into many columns and then reading across) and software which will do the job for you. One such example is the DOS-based Babble (ZIPped).

Another example of a wonderful technique to tap into one's subconscious imagery is Gysin's Dream Machine. There are numerous sites on the net which offer schematic diagrams for the manufacture of this simple tool, so I offer an on-line version to try. Maximize the pop-up flashing window, close your eyes and move your head toward the monitor until the flashes appear to completely fill your frame of (eyes-closed) vision. Let your mind wander. Additionally, I've reformatted some of the text from TOPY and elsewhere for the creation of your own DREAMACHINE in PDF.