William S. Burroughs “Origin and Theory of the Tape Cut-Ups” animation

When you cut into the present, the future leaks out.

Here’s a cool visual cut-up to go along with Burroughs’ “Origin and Theory of the Tape Cut-Ups.” In the recording, Burroughs explains the theory behind his method of rearranging text to make new meaning (or perhaps expose hidden meanings) out of the text. Burroughs finishes with an early example of audio cut-ups, produced by British artist Brion Gysin.

It’s cool to see artists from different eras interacting with each other and exploring the same concepts using vastly different technologies.