June 5th, 2009 / 6:57 pm
I Like __ A Lot

John Cage; a dialogue between art.

After two years it became clear to both of us that I had no feeling for harmony. For Schoenberg, harmony was not just coloristic: it was structural. It was the means one used to distinguish one part of a composition from another. Therefore he said I’d never be able to write music. “Why not?” “You’ll come to a wall and won’t be able to get through.” “Then I’ll spend my life knocking my head against that wall.”

This excerpt is from John Cage: An Autobiographical Statement, which is filled to the brim with remarkable and inspirational ideas, as is the conversation between John and Paul Cummings.  Topics covered:  Zen Buddism, Black Mountain College, John’s chess apprenticeship with Duchamp, mythology, Wittgenstein, Malevich, painting, the nature/structure of music, the ‘dialogue’ between arts and artists, etc.

11 Comments

  1. Jimmy Chen

      i like it how people can think so much about ultimately nothing (4′ 33″)

  2. Jimmy Chen

      i like it how people can think so much about ultimately nothing (4′ 33″)

  3. Ken Baumann

      People yearn for invitations to think, despite what Hollywood often thinks.

      I think.

  4. Ken Baumann

      People yearn for invitations to think, despite what Hollywood often thinks.

      I think.

  5. drew

      i think i agree. and i like the ‘despite what hollywood thinks.’

      people just need a nice prod (kick) in the thinking direction, and they’ll put out some effort.

  6. drew

      i think i agree. and i like the ‘despite what hollywood thinks.’

      people just need a nice prod (kick) in the thinking direction, and they’ll put out some effort.

  7. HTMLGIAN

      NICE!

  8. HTMLGIAN

      NICE!

  9. Ross Brighton

      I love cage. I really do. I want a copy or Roratorio.

  10. Ross Brighton

      I love cage. I really do. I want a copy or Roratorio.

  11. Janey Smith

      .