Re: sound art vs. music/cage

[Daryl <highhorse@mhorse.com>]

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"--