Scholarly discussion of the music of John Cage.

[Carl Heppenstall <>]

When I think of the silence that is ceremonial, I think of it as a timed
command to look inward and toward reflection and toward a relationship with
some form of higher power; whereas with silence that is part of a musical
performance, when the attention is on the silence, it is an outward focus, a
consciousness of the aesthetics of life outside of the performance or of the
things that are greater than the performance.

Interestingly, the leader of the ceremonial silence is either into the
process or merely acting on the formality or performance, and you can always
tell which if you're conscious of your ability or inability to bathe in the
silence.

Regards,
Carl



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Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 5:40 AM
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Subject: [silence] silence as performance and nothing but

I wonder if there is a school of thought that views silence as something
that is fundamentally performed (entirely a human enactment) rather than
viewed as a "thing" that may or may not exist in nature, the mind, etc? 
Initially, I'm thinking particularly how two minutes silence is "observed"
in memorial services etc and wondering whether this so-called observation is
not actually a nuanced kind of performance. And that this is the case in all
enactments of silence, from sitting in a chair staring into space a la De
Quincey to the long not-much-happening concerts of Taku Sugimoto.
And - the rub - where this is precisely addressed by Cage, precision and
time being of the essence. Guidance appreciated.
Thanks.
Ed Baxter