Scholarly discussion of the music of John Cage.

[Rod Stasick <>]

        On Jan 14, 2019, at 17:23, David Bellows <> 
wrote:

        As I was checking my results against Nicki's, I noticed that hers
        would leave out words in the wing words which she justified with the
        following:

        "Cage: 'Then I take out the words I don't want.'
        My interpretation: Don't add all possible words between spine 
letters.”


Does she still hold this interpretation with on the updated page that I 
mentioned?
(I should look - and try out some text that I know…)

If she still holds to this “loose” interpretation,
then I have to say “no” to it.
Mainly because the idea of taking out words willy-nilly
doesn’t match up to what we all pretty much know about Cage.

I’m also of the opinion that if you have to second-guess John’s 
interpretations,
it always seems to be better to do so in the manner of extrapolation of his
general philosophy...even if Cage himself may have not have possibly thought 
of “it.”

What do I mean?

In 2012, I attended a talk given by Ray Kass about Cage’s watercolors.
During the Q&A session that followed, I asked if Cage had used chance
operations to determine whether to go clockwise or counter when he
painted around his various sized rocks that he frequently used.
The silence that followed was not unlike John’s spoken silence.

A hand to a chin ... silence ... “hmmm...”

“OK, let me ask this: when John drew his circles did he use chance operations 
to decide where on the perimeter of the circle he would start drawing? - 
‘cause,
you know, it’d be easy to divide the perimeter into 64 with 16 at each 
quadrant...”

< crickets ... >

I remember a similar instance with John even when it didn’t involve his own 
work.
He became excited when we were discussing a work I was in the middle of in 
the early 80s that involved my using a text called “The Man'yōshū.” While 
mentioning all kinds of
elements that were being subjected to chance operations, he would offer new 
suggestions. You could see his eyes light up at the possibilities.

So, I think that if you are steeped enough in Cage philosophy, there can be 
some
possible extrapolations that can be used in some creative instances, but, it 
needs to genuinely be in the direction of selfless pursuit - a kind that 
yields new learning experiences that are not necessarily pedantic, but ones 
that produce ideas that push you creatively forward.

Rod