Hank and I talked about this guy after class on Sunday. He was a composer, but I believe that his compositions were more theoretical than actual...or metaphysical as Hank would call them. One in particular 4'33" - is a piece in three pieces, of total silence. It forces the composer, the "players" and the audience to really listen to themselves and each other.
It was interesting watching this performance on Youtube. After each part, the audience would be in an uproar of coughing, as though everyone needed to cough at once at the one moment that the conductors baton was no longer in the air. Why? why cough? why sneeze? it is proof that we cannot sit still anymore...even when we are placing ourselves in that particular state?
John Cage also was an author, but unfortunately Google book reader has garbled most of his literature...i hate that...when pieces of the books are missing because Google doesnt want you to be able to read them all in their entireties!!
I do believe an attempt at a new language was at stake here.
