The present methods of writing music […] will be inadequate
for the composer, who will be faced with the entire field of sound.
—John Cage, “The Future of Music: Credo,” 1937
In a 1965 interview with Michael Kirby and Richard Schechner, John Cage defined theatre as “something which engages both the eye and the ear.” Cage’s multifaceted interdisciplinary output—which includes, in addition to his music composition, prolific writing, visual art, and his perhaps lesser known theatre pieces—similarly engages both the eye and the ear, yielding a broader consideration of both theatre and music even as it necessitates a reconsideration of such disciplinary categorization for artists and audiences alike. Like his infamous ‘silent piece,’ 4’33”, which redefined the seemingly rational concepts of ‘silence’ and ‘music,’ Cage’s work as an artist and philosopher provides the brackets inside of which so much artistic practice has been and can be placed.
This interdisciplinary conference is both a celebration of John Cage, 100 years after his birth, and an opportunity to explore Cage’s influence on music, writing, performance, and critical scholarship. Fundamental to the development of innovations in performance art, contemporary music, graphic notation, audience reception, and theories of social practice, Cage remains one of the most, if not the most, influential figures in twentieth- and twenty-first-century art and performance. Such a legacy necessarily resonates beyond any single artistic or historical trajectory, and “The Future of Cage: Credo” will explore not only Cage’s output, both artistic and philosophical, but its after-effects through a variety of fields, genres, and modes of presentation.
Just as the composer for whom, in 1937, present modes of writing music might have been inadequate, current modes of critical analysis and presentation may not be entirely adequate in a post-Cagean world. We offer here a chance to face the expansive ‘field of Cage’ and to explore the significance of his work and thought beyond discipline, beyond history, and beyond Cage himself.
for the composer, who will be faced with the entire field of sound.
—John Cage, “The Future of Music: Credo,” 1937
In a 1965 interview with Michael Kirby and Richard Schechner, John Cage defined theatre as “something which engages both the eye and the ear.” Cage’s multifaceted interdisciplinary output—which includes, in addition to his music composition, prolific writing, visual art, and his perhaps lesser known theatre pieces—similarly engages both the eye and the ear, yielding a broader consideration of both theatre and music even as it necessitates a reconsideration of such disciplinary categorization for artists and audiences alike. Like his infamous ‘silent piece,’ 4’33”, which redefined the seemingly rational concepts of ‘silence’ and ‘music,’ Cage’s work as an artist and philosopher provides the brackets inside of which so much artistic practice has been and can be placed.
This interdisciplinary conference is both a celebration of John Cage, 100 years after his birth, and an opportunity to explore Cage’s influence on music, writing, performance, and critical scholarship. Fundamental to the development of innovations in performance art, contemporary music, graphic notation, audience reception, and theories of social practice, Cage remains one of the most, if not the most, influential figures in twentieth- and twenty-first-century art and performance. Such a legacy necessarily resonates beyond any single artistic or historical trajectory, and “The Future of Cage: Credo” will explore not only Cage’s output, both artistic and philosophical, but its after-effects through a variety of fields, genres, and modes of presentation.
Just as the composer for whom, in 1937, present modes of writing music might have been inadequate, current modes of critical analysis and presentation may not be entirely adequate in a post-Cagean world. We offer here a chance to face the expansive ‘field of Cage’ and to explore the significance of his work and thought beyond discipline, beyond history, and beyond Cage himself.