John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer, philosopher, poet, music theorist, artist, printmaker, and amateur mycologist and mushroom collector. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. [wikipedia] Cage’s major influences lay in various Eastern cultures. Through his studies of Indian philosophy and Zen Buddhism in the late 1940s, Cage came to the idea of chance-controlled music, which he started composing in 1951. The I Ching, an ancient Chinese classic text on changing events, became Cage’s standard composition tool for the rest of his life. In a 1957 lecture, Experimental Music, he described music as “a purposeless play” which is:
“an affirmation of life – not an attempt to bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply a way of waking up to the very life we’re living”. [wikipedia]
I came across Cage when I was doing some research recently about the Canadian arctic by way of DJ Spooky’s large scale multimedia performance Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica. (I plan to do a post on this as well in the near future) There are some great interviews and articles on Cage WNYC website. I have included some images of his notations for his compositions (which I find fascinating from an art/drawing point of view) as well as some of his art.
I love the quote from Kant that Cage refers to in the video clip above: “There are two things that don’t have to mean anything; one is music, the other is laughter”
Links
- Opus 20 Modern Masterworks: John Cage – 2 Part series on YouTube
- Google Video John Cage performing “Water Walk” in January, 1960 on the popular TV show I’ve Got A Secret. via WFMU: blog.wfmu.org
Flickr
Twitter
Cage reminds me of a friend long ago… but yes, there is wisdom in his words – it brings to mind something I believe Louis Armstrong had once said ( although un-similar in Cages words- both meanings are paradoxically equally similar in their interpretation ) ” If one has to explain Jazz , then they will never know “ Louis Armstrong ;
I believe that certain things do not require translation , they are good within their ‘as-isness’ [ to adopt to Buddhist ideology ] , and therefore should be left alone. Such is Music , it requires no interpretation nor explanation . It is perfect whether it screams in anger or softly whispers in your ear.
M.