My knowledge of music had been limited to the 19th century, and I was just getting interested in Beethoven I was unaware of Bach. PC: Had you seen much before in California as far as art was concerned? JC: But, while I was in Paris, I went to many exhibitions of paintings and I went to concerts of music. So he introduced me to an architect named Goldfinger and I worked in his studio, curiously enough, drawing Greek Gods. He insisted that if I was going to be interested in architecture, that I should be interested in Modern architecture. JC: He was engaged in making a current events list for the United Nations, or the League of Nations. When I got to Europe I was struck by, first of all, Gothic architecture and a teacher who had been at Pomona College came through and asked me what I was doing. My mother was interested in writing my father was an inventor. So I persuaded my mother and father that going to Europe would be more useful for someone who was going to write than continuing in college and they agreed. JC: So since I was convinced that I would be a writer when I was in college, I was also convinced that college was of no use to a writer because they required everyone to read the same books. But we are warned against learning anything else. I think, because the one thing people learn to do is to read and write. JC: And I suspect actually that if you took a Gallup Poll you'd discover that virtually everybody in the country one time or another has written a poem. The only craft they've been taught, the only thing they know how to do, is to write words. They've all been warned against getting interested in anything seriously. I had taken piano lessons and I was, I think, like most people who go through American public education. John Cage: I dropped out of college when I finished the sophomore year. Paul Cummings: I think I'd really like to start at the beginning because you did paint at one point, didn't you? Very early on? This is a rough transcription that may include typographical errors. The reader should bear in mind that he or she is reading a transcript of spoken, rather than written, prose. The interview was conducted in the artist's home by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. The following oral history transcript is the result of a tape-recorded interview with John Cage on 1974 May 2. Language Noteįunding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service. This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others. John Cage (1912-1992) was a composer and printmaker from New York, New York. He recalls Josef Albers, Bonnie Bird, Merce Cuningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Tobey, Alan Watts, and others. Summary: An interview of John Cage conducted 1974 May 2, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.Ĭage speaks of his education studying art and architecture in Europe his paintings his music teachers including Richard Buhlig, Henry Cowell, and Adolph Weiss his lectures on modern art and music his first wife, Xenia teaching at the Cornish School, the Chicago Institute of Design, and Black Mountain College taking chess lessons from Marcel Duchamp Oriental philosophy and "Silence," "Empty Words," and other compositions. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Not for the faint of heart.Format: Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Stay tuned.Īnd for old time sake, you can listen to the first live collaboration/improvisation as Black Beast of CHANG from November of 2010 here. We hope to schedule a series of shows soon. You can download the CD here, but I suggest purchasing the CD as the artwork in the packaging is well worth the cash, not to mention it’s a very limited edition and will not be around long. Besides, who could resist basing a work upon a story that contains castration, war, humiliation, and the eating of one’s children. It just happened to fit the story incredibly well. I split the pieces into smaller “bite-sized” bits for digestion. The four “acts” were created as they are heard and in that order. In actuality, the recording is a live in studio improvisation and contains no overdubs or edits. Titled KRONOS, the CD is loosely based upon the ancient Greek myth of the Titan King and his downfall. Two years after our only live duo performance and numerous conversations about the possibilities, Bipediment Recordings is proud to present (finally) a CD collaboration between Black Beat of ARRRGHHH (Zachory Short Jr) and CHANG (Jim Ivy), collectively known as Black Beast of CHANG.
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