indeterminacy

john cage - not a household word - which to me is a strange thing . . . . . but then too, jackson pollock isn’t either and perhaps it’s because they shared similar roles in the ongoing deconstruction of the culture they lived inside.

stepping well outside the bounds of what was nominally “music”, cage was alternately famous / infamous for his creative use of musical instruments and especially for his development of “chance music” in which some element of the work is left to chance or to the whim of the performers. through his piece entitled 4’33, cage reintroduced the notion of silence as music in and of itself. in 4’33 not a note of music is played.

cage’s writing is less challenging but still carries the presence of a singularly brilliant man who carried the burden of moving culture along its path for many years.


go here to read john’s tiny but rich stories of life both inner and outer.

http://www.lcdf.org/indeterminacy/index.cgi

once there you can choose between an “index of names” which allows you to access a list of names of people who appear in the little vignettes, or you can access a list of “first lines” which allows you to select a vignette based on its first line. you may also select from an index of “last lines”.

i have many favourites here but one that carries weight for me metaphorically is the one whose first line is: “You probably know the one about the two monks, but I’ll tell it anyway”. it is numbered “2”. oh and by the way, don’t be fooled by this sample into thinking that you are going to be reading a selection of zen parables . . . . . far from it!

“You   probably   know   the   one   about   the   two
  monks,                      but   I’ll   tell   it
 anyway.                              They   were   
walking   along   one   day   when   they   came   to
  a   stream   where   a   young   lady   was   
waiting,                       hoping   that   someone
  would   help   her   across.
       Without   hesitating,                       one
  of   the   monks   picked   her   up   and   carried
  her    across,                        putting    her
   down    safely            on    the    other    side.

 The    two    monks    continued    walking    along,
                       and    after    some    time,
                     the    second    one,
            unable    to    restrain    himself,
                     said    to    the    first,
                  “You    know    we’re    not   
allowed    to    touch    women.
           Why    did    you    carry    that    woman
   across    the    stream?”
               The    first    monk    replied,
                   “Put    her    down.
                   I    did    two     hours     ago.”

john cage