Sound

[Guest guest]

"Everything we do is Music. And everywhere is the best seat." John Cage

This brought back another art school memory. One of my art history

teachers believed we should be exposed to all aspects of culture and

so showed us movies and documentaries and played music for us. I

strongly recall a video about Harry Parch, who made instruments out

of found objects. And, of course, John Cage. We looked at Cage's

scores, which were, in themselves art works, and listened to his

music. Carlyon, the instructor was making a point, but, as usual, he

left it up to us to figure it out. He played an entire score of

Cage's, which I experienced as a raw assault on my senses. I was so

overstimulated by this at the end, that I left the class in a kind of

stupor (or trance). Then the most interesting thing happened. I was in

the elevator and suddenly I "heard" everything ~ the silence, people

breathing ~ sounds I had never noticed before. The experience was

very like the one I had when I heard the "music of the spheres." It

brought the personal, everyday to the foreground as Sacred and Whole.

Truly amazing, and thank you John Cage.