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Re: sound art vs. music/cage
I've just been reading a biography of Cage, "the roaring silence". It's a
fascinating read, and very enlightening. Cage's experiments and concepts
grow out
of very deep-seated spiritual/philosophical beliefs, particularly Zen
Buddhism.
In essence, what he was trying to do was create art with no ego involved -
even to
the extent of trying to avoid the influence of his likes, dislikes and
emotions on
the music. He felt that the silent piece (4" 33') did this possibly the
best.
His other techniques of chance composition, choosing notes by the I Ching,
by
coffee stains or scattered pellets on a piece of paper, etc., had the same
goal.
It was a way of allowing the universe to create the music with as little
guidance
from him as possible. This could be seen as similiar to the use of Tarot
cards,
or the I Ching, where the vagaries of chance can be seen as specific
guidance or
advice when interpreted by a knowledgable individual.
I admire him greatly, though I own very little of his music. He was
certainly an
artist working with the medium of sound, as well as paint, dance,
printing, etc.
Daryl Shawn
highhorse@mhorse.com
> i've had an interesting debate w/ a musician friend about cage.
> a lot of his stuff i think is more "conceptual art"--