Monday, May 31, 2010

William Burroughs: Cuts You Up

My recent experiment on the cut-up method used by William Burroughs has been an interestingly creative learning experience. It's like dissecting a frog in biology, except the frog is alive in this case, the frog being a chosen text, what Burroughs refers to as a pre-recorded coded slice of the universe, to reveal its inner beating heart, the implicit true meaning within the text. It's not too far off from the artists (Nitsch, Pollock, etc.), and those who smeared dead carcasses onto their canvases in an effort not to mirror life, but to act it out, even with their own bodies, using painting as a performance. Here is a link to my project:

William Burroughs' cut-up method: Experiment

The cut-up method was also used by many music artists in their recordings and lyrics, such as David Bowie's lyrics (The Laughing Gnostic: David Bowie and the Occult) and Kurt Cobain's lyrics, guitar feedback and distortion.


David Bowie: Outside


Peter Murphy: Cuts You Up

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