Re: vandalism redux

[Gregory Taylor <gtaylor@xxxxxxxx>]

My goodness. That was quick.

Someone's asked me about who I'd consider as an
example of a transgressor who did the hard work.
It's an interesting question, and one which I may
return to when the better examples come to mind.
Part of the problem with the answer is that it tends
to feed the "history is made by Great Men" theory
by erecting the edifices of exemplary lives.

Another problem is that I figure that a good transgressor
remains invisible, becomes an "other" and is then
co-opted. Wanna find good transgressors? Consider
"career suicide" compositions or releases as markers
[Giacinto Scelsi, Arvo Pärt].

I've found the work that litters Gavin Bryars'
career [the early free jazz stuff with Derek Bailey
and Tony Oxley in the Joseph Holbrooke group,
his conceptual works in the 70s like "Serenely
Beaming and Leaning on a Five-Barred Gate" and
"The Sinking of the Titanic", his later return to
consonance before it became fashionable again, and
the stubborn sense of "style" about what he does]
has provided me with some sense for pause.

Tetsu Inoue's work may well fit into that category;
certainly a fair number of people who worship his
earlier analog works [at least among my listeners]
are driven to fury by his more recent work - which
I like quite a lot, perhaps more than what preceded
it.

Cage is obvious. Richard Rorty's break with the
analytical tradition in philosophy. Stanley Fish's
more recent stuff may well fit into that category,
too - at least in terms of pissing off literary
critics. But in the end, the only thing that gives you
escape velocity from History is anonymity, and
even that's unreliable.

gregory
_
knowledge is not enough/science is not enough/
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