Chapel of Extreme Experience: A Short History of Stroboscopic Light and the Dream Machine by Geiger, John - 2003

Soft Skull Press , 2003. As new in glossy pictorial wrappers. "John Geiger traces the history of how a visual phenomenon first described two hundred years ago by physiologist Jan Purkinje has become the basis of further scientific studies into how the visual brain works, and how its repercussions have spread widely into contemporary artistic and musical culture. The study of stroboscopic light began as a purely scientific study. Geiger’s history begins at this point and goes on to study the transition to the art world that was pioneered by Brion Gysin, William S. Burroughs, Genesis P-Orridge and Allen Ginsberg. While the book is an examination of the intersection between art and science, it is also a study of major currents in Western culture by way of an investigation of an obscure phenomenon. Not only was flicker central to the artistic explorations of the afore-mentioned by Geiger also finds intersections with the lives (and deaths) of people as various as Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain, Keith… Read More

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Soft Skull Pr, 2003. New York, New York, U.S.A.: Soft Skull Pr, 2003. VF as issued . Original Wraps. As New/None as Issued. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.. Paperback. New/None as Issued. Book.

Soft Skull, 2003. Trade Paperback. Near Fine. Book shows very light wear to covers with a little edge wear. Binding is solid and square, text/interior is clean and free of marking of any kind. 120 pages with occasional b&w photos. William Burroughs was a big fan of this device, cover shows him staring into it.