[LAU] Re: Re: That must suck. For me it's about beauty--musicisjustone path

[david]

Ivica Ico Bukvic wrote:
>> Ivica Ico Bukvic escribe:
>>> Again, depends upon the context. John Cage wrote a famous piece 4'33"
>> which
>>> is four minutes and 33 seconds of silence in three movements. How about
>>> buying a CD of that one? Yet, its impact on the contemporary music scene
>> is
>>> monumental and it is practically impossible to find a book which
>> discusses
>>> 20th century music without mentioning this work.
>> IIRC the point of that piece was that the duration was exactly 4'33"
>> (wow!)
> 
> Actually, no. The points are (more or less in the order of importance)
> recontextualization of silence, exploration of indeterminacy, and
> relinquishing the control over the creative process (which is to some extent
> an outgrowth of the second point).

The point was that Cage was too damn lazy or arrogant to create 
anything, so he produced 4'33" of meaningless nothingness. The piece 
reminds me of wide swathes of what passes for modern art in the painting 
world, where the painting is accompanied by a densely-written, 3-5 page 
explanation of the painting. Without the textual explanation, the 
painting itself communicates NOTHING - no meaning, etc. (IMHO, this is a 
sure sign that the work was funded by a grant.) As my artist-daughter 
describes them, they're a "spot on the wall."

Of course, music without meaning is standard fare in the world of 
popular commercial music ...

-- 
David
gnome at hawaii.rr.com
authenticity, honesty, community