Recreating Brion Gysin’s “Dream Machine” in John Nicholson’s Studio at Grace Exhibition Space

Nicholson invited me in when I couldn’t help but notice him trying to hallucinate while staring into the strange light construction in his studio. He enlightened me that you can buy the template for the contraption at St. Mark’s Bookstore and he couldn’t resist trying it out. “Gyson thought of it as an alternative to television,” Nicholson told me. Obviously the “Dreamachine” lost out in market share but may still be a leading force among the underground demographic.

According to Wikipedia: “With Sommerville, [Gysin] built the Dreamachine in 1961. Described as ‘the first art object to be seen with the eyes closed,’ the flicker device uses alpha waves in the 8-16 Hz range to produce a change of consciousness in receptive viewers.”

Grace Exhibition Space (BOS listing)
840 Broadway 2nd floor