John Wisniewski Interviews Ramuntcho Matta

bonsoir,

first I d like to apologize for my poorwritten english

here is my answers:

When did you meet Byron Gysin?

I met Brion in 1975.

It was the director of the school I was, Maurice Benhamou, he was also a poet. Maurice told me: “if you come to poetry and phylosophy lesson and if you go help an old friend of mine I will not tell your parents that you don t go to school”

The old friend was Brion Gysin, and I was fifteen.

Could you tell us about your collaborations with him?

the fist two years it was like a master/disciple relation. I went to his place at 9 in the morning to help. and stayed until lunch.

Basicaly he was telling stories, he was an amazing story teller. every evening at home I was doing my home works, my mother though it was school work but in fact I was writing all the “things” at brion’s. we were listening to a lot of music, and speaking about magics.

two years after I came more in the afternoon. meeting all his passing by friends. we started playing music at this time.

the idea was to do a normal like music but with layers of trans rhythm and magical intonations.

but for the people that did not know it was like stupid music. every morning it was working, working hard. and every night it was party time.

Great party time, wild and funny.

Are you searching to reveal the unconscious in your work, both in your drawings and music?

I am trying to meet the “me” that I do not know . the one that is sleeping other wise.

The one that you could meet only in dreams.

So i guess that you are right. I do music for the eyes and pictures for the ears.

Did you study under your father the artist Roberto Matta?

yes a lot.

But not only him.

We are made of who we really meet.

Some transmissions can passes in a few seconds, some others take years.

But certainly my father was a great influence.

Could you tell us about your short films? Do you see any relationship between your music and your films?

short films are the meeting point …

each one an hypothesis of giving image to time….

sometimes….

sometimes sharing a moment, an experience to the viewer….

sometimes a pretexte to make music….

sometimes the music is a pretexte to make films….

but to be honest… I never though about relations with this or that….

I just do….

to go back to the don cherry relationship I would say that one of the thing I learn from him is the be in a state where art can pass thru

me….

the form can be video, text, sound….

the important is to be , feel, and do…

What inspires you in creating your art?

also

and mainly

find a solution for a situation

When you look at the history of Surrealism and the history of art over the last few decades-what has changed if anything, as far the the interests in various subjects etc.?

More seriously I would say

that the important is self exigence

that was the denominateur commun of surrealist group members

you can find this essence in every generation

Any interesting stories about Brion Gysin?

any stories about brion gysin are interesting

I remember a concert we did together….

.. it was a uge crowd ….

so I was impressed and shy…. nervous….

brion told me: “play it good, or play it loud”

You directed a film about your father, how did you go about this project and any rememberances of your father’s circle of friends Andre Breton etc.?

Well the idea of the film was a reciproque envi

he just had an heart operation, and had lost two sons…

… I just had a very bad illness and I needed to rebirth again….

I was a computer freak and wanted to work about memory….

the film is about transmission of knoledge and becoming your own father….

breton was important because he was doing the link between past and destiny….

he will help you to find your own roots….

the same thing I am doing when I give my doubt lessons….

it is a sort of a tradition….

so my father speaks about friends, breton, duchamps, ernst, jorn, brauner….

and also about tools to help you build yourself…

methods…