Silence: Lectures and Writings

Description

Silence, A Year from Monday, M, Empty Words and X (in this order) form the five parts of a series of books in which Cage tries, as he says, to find a way of writing which comes from ideas, is not about them, but which produces them. Often these writings include mesostics and essays created by subjecting the work of other writers to chance procedures using the I Ching (what Cage called writing through).

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Customer Reviews

Abstract Art Philosophy
John Cage is certainly an individual. His mind is an adventure to traverse, and his philosophy is certain to make you look at sound in a different way. The text consists of his lectures and essays. Interspersed are anecdotes, some of which have have no conceivable point and all of which have no connection to the lectures or each other. Cage's ideas on silence, noise, rhythm, and music are interesting for any musician to explore. He also spends a little time on modern dance. His writings show significant influence from Zen, and some are quite difficult to understand. "Silence" is definitely worthwhile for musicians, philosophers, or anyone ready for an adventure in to the human mind.

2009-09-01 (Michigan) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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A Seminal 20th Century (And Beyond) Text (from Ahadada Books)
I always think of John Cage as "Klatuu" in "The Day The Earth Stood Still," arriving in a turn-table-shaped rig to deliver the truth about the future of music to the masses. He parks his space ship, and his buddy Gort, on the mall and goes out to make a point. At first only the smartest man in the world could understand the equations he and Billy left on the office black board, but soon everyone would be standing stranded on the streets of Paris and Beijing wondering what the heck's up, and what's all this noise about? Of course, Klatuu gets killed and brought back to life (Cage wisely skipped that), and flies back to wherever he came from (as did Cage a few years back), but our man Cage beats Klatuu by light years, because this MAN FROM THE FUTURE left behind a collection of lectures and writings on the nature of sound, art, literature and BEING that still resonates. This is a fascinating tool box to dig through, even though some of the most interesting selections pre-date Klatuu. One innovation that Cage pioneers in this book is the use of random processes to give form to his lectures. This results in timed "silences" in the texts (very similar to performance scores) and poem-like structures of words. Cage also adds the 20th century's plastic-fantastic Americanized (and therefore ever more elastic) concept of ZEN to the tool box of avant-garde poly-practioners, which results in yet another permission given to innovate. In fact, when I encounter new music, writing, art, one of the basic things I seek is PERMISSION TO DO, and that's exactly what Cage is up to in these lectures. Not only is PERMISSION GIVEN, but he hands over many of the tools to begin. That's why this book is vital, seminal (pun intended) and necessary for every experimentalist in the arts and in life. Cage also has a great sense of humor in these writings. YOUTUBE includes a wonderful video of a guest appearance that Cage made on the old "What's My Line." Before the barely comprehending black & white stares of Gary Moore, Bess Myerson and the crew, Cage plays mix-masters, toasters, and other appliances, watching the clock, as always, and with a straight face bringing the odd beauty of new sound and his own Houdini-like showmanship into America's living rooms, just as he unpacks his ideas in the minds of any attentive reader of this book to this day. As classic as a 1960 limited edition T-Bird guaranteed to bring wows if driven into the 21st century and on and on into the future of human thought.

2008-06-14 | Jesse Glass (Urayasu, Chiba Japan) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

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Very Interesting!!
This book is a work of art in itself. John Cage takes so many of his theories and applies them to his writing style, formatting, and type style. I suggest knowing a little about him before reading this book as it is a little easy to get lost in translation (figuratively speaking). Overall, it is definitely worth reading, and it is fairly affordable...a good addition to any collection.

2007-02-16 | audionut (Savannah, GA) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 4

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Essential
Not just for musicians, but for anybody who is interested in music or philosophy. Cage's ideas presented in the work are fascinating in and of themselves, but even the manner in which he physically notates his thoughts on paper is amazing to see.

There's a common argument that his ideas (and this book) are overrated. I find this difficult to digest, especially when one considers the enormous impact Cage's writings and compositions have had on countless composers (basically anyone composing after 1950 has most likely taken a thing or two from the ideas in this book).

Sometimes he can be a little tough to follow in the book, as properly constructed sentences are not high up on Cage's list of priorities. However, this book has so much to offer that it is worth wading through the occasional slow spot.

So give it a whirl. Even if you don't like Cage's music, reading this book will give you insights into what he did that may change your mind or at least instill a newfound respect. At its best, this is inspiration of the highest sort.

2002-05-08 | jimmy_cello (New York, NY) | Helpful Votes: 32 | Rating: 5

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Quintessential Cage
I keep reading it year after year and I keep finding sections of it I've never seen before. magic. A the same time, I read the same part overs and over again years later and they just get better.

It's just a remarkable text.

You have to get it.

2001-08-17 (New York, NY) | Helpful Votes: 17 | Rating: 5

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No Such Thing as Silence: John Cage's 4'33" (Icons of America)

Product Details

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• Up: New
• ISBN13: 9780300136999

Description

(20100301)

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Customer Reviews

It's not just about silence
This is an extraordinary book, because by focusing on just one piece by John Cage, Gann brings into the discussion the whole world of art and sensibility of the period, the late 40's to the 60's.

This is a "must-have" and "must-read" for anyone interested in the period.

2010-05-10 (Oakland, California) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Shhh
Gann does a fantastic job at putting 4'33'' and Cage into context. The book is remarkably well researched. As Gann says, this book could not have been written in the 20th Century, given the amount of books that have come out in the last 15 years. In his introduction, Gann mentions that his interest in Cage started at an early age, and one can't help be influenced by his curiosity. "No Such Thing As Silence" has been very helpful with my own writing on 4'33'' and Cage; and has helped inform me as to why Cage just might be one of the most important composers of all time.

2010-04-23 (USA) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

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A Year from Monday: New Lectures and Writings

Description

Includes lectures, essays, diaries and other writings, including How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse) and Juilliard Lecture.

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Customer Reviews

Very Interesting
I find his book very interesting and informative in many ways. Most of it is very difficult to read because 1. John Cage is extremely intellectual, and 2. He is very avan garde, so some of the formats in which he writes in can be very complicated. I enjoy it being complicated though because there is something you can always figure out about it or just look into very closely. My favorite subject of this book are his journal/diary entries. They include entries of him away at master classes and the things that he talks about are humorous, great to know, and interesting to think about. I recommend this selection of John Cage highly.

2005-10-06 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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or: today(?)
Yes.

The second collection of John Cage's writings to appear (after Silence), A year From Monday is indispensable to anyone wishing to have more than a passing understanding of Cage's work and thought. In usual Cage fashion, the lectures, essays, "diaries," anecdotes, and assorted miscellanea jump off the page - utilizing an increasingly diverse array of typefaces and sizes, the writings contained here blaze the trail that leads to the mesostics and other verbal experiments that characterize the remainder of Cage's literary work beginning with M: Writings '67-'72.

Including, amongst numerous other gems, the "Two Statements on Ives," "26 Statements re Duchamp," "Jasper Johns: Stories and Ideas," the "Julliard Lecture," "Lecture on Commitment," and a collection of personal reminiscences/Zen riddles entitled "How to Pass, Kick, Fall, and Run," A Year From Monday contains an overflow of priceless Cageisms.

Beginning with an unforgettable cover (three slightly-overlapping photos of Cage's face, the first serious, the second beginning to open up, the third in full cackle) and never slowing down, the collection demonstrates perfectly Cage's relevance to musicians firstly, and thinkers finally. From one of the most significant and influential composers of the 20th century, A year From Monday demonstrates the originality, openness, and precision of thought that make Cage relevant to a much broader audience than simply the avante-garde musician.

2005-02-19 | Helpful Votes: 5 | Rating: 5

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Begin Again: A Biography of John Cage

Description

A biography of major importance: the first comprehensive life of John Cage—musician, inventor, dance composer, poet, and central figure of the postwar avant-garde—who died in 1992 at the age of eighty.

Award-winning biographer Kenneth Silverman follows Cage from his California childhood—his father was a successful inventor—through his vision-expanding stay in Paris in 1930–31 and his truncated studies with Arnold Schoenberg. We see his early experiments with sound and instruments, and we watch as he develops his signature work with prepared piano, radio static, random noise, and silence. We learn of his many friendships over the years with other composers, artists, philosophers, and writers; of his early marriage; and of his female and male lovers and his long relationship with Merce Cunningham, with whom he would collaborate on groundbreaking performance pieces that continue to be influential in the worlds of both music and dance.

Drawing on interviews with Cage’s contemporaries and friends and on the entire archive of his letters and writings, and including photographs and facsimiles of musical scores, Silverman gives us a revelatory portrait of one of the most important cultural figures of the twentieth century.

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John Cage Visual Art: To Sober and Quiet the Mind

Description

“What I’m proposing to myself and to other people, is what I often call the tourist attitude—that you act as though you’ve never been there before. So that you’re not supposed to know anything about it. If you really get down to brass tacks, we have never been anywhere before.” –John Cage, 1992

John Cage advocated paying attention to the world around us, and “to the life that we are so excellently living.” He is mainly known as a composer who affected the course of music in our time, but he also lectured, wrote commentary and poetry, and made prints, watercolors, and drawings. He died in 1992, but his work continues to affect people conscious of shaping their own lives. Cage worked at Crown Point Press, publisher of fine art prints, every year from 1978 until his death. During that period he produced 27 groups of prints, mostly etchings, totalling 667 individually composed works of art. Kathan Brown worked with Cage on these prints that make up the largest and most sustained aspect of his visual art. In this book, she speaks from her own experience about how he worked. The many illustrations make it easy to see what she is talking about, and she often uses Cage's own words to describe particular works or reflect upon the nature of his art.

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Customer Reviews

A masterful overview of Cage's visual art.
This is a very beautiful book, with the focus on Cage's print works. One will also find examples of Cage's drawings and watercolors, but they are included here more as a referance point to the print works. The works focussed on in this book are a wonderful selection of his prints, all done at the print studio of Kathyn Brown. The layout of the book, and the detail of description of Cage's working methods, are all topnotch. The quality of the printing and binding of the book is excellent also. Any fan of Cage, and of contemporary print editions, will definitely want to have this beautiful volume in their library.

2007-12-01 (Youngstown, OH United States) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 5

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Silence.

Description

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