Re: [microsound] visual artists

[bruce tovsky <bruce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Feb 7, 2006, at 7:16 PM, David Powers wrote:

> A lot of musicians still maintain very old fashioned ideas, on the 
> other hand, and they are never forced to ask themselves hard aesthetic 
> questions or consider broader questions on the nature of sound and 
> music. They typically consider someone like John Cage to be a complete 
> joke and crackpot!

well, even though i come from a mostly visual art background i have to 
take some
issue with this statement. my big eye-openers regarding experimental 
music came
by way of an academic music institution -  Indiana University in 
Bloomington, IN.
this was back in '71, and in addition to being a prestigious mainstream 
music college
IU also had adventurous jazz and avant garde programs. Iannis Xenakis 
was in
residence the year that i was there, and i saw him "perform" Bohor with 
a 16 channel
speaker system circling the audience. in addition, i saw several 
recitals of new music,
including some fantastic performances of Cage's prepared piano pieces. 
more than
anything i got from my art studies, these experiences at age 18 totally 
changed my
way of thinking about sound and music and set me firmly on the sonic 
path i'm still
walking down. and it also had an immense impact on my visual art - most 
of the artists
who were pushing the boundaries of sound and visuals were 
interdisciplinarians,
and the intersection of art and sound was all the rage. on the other 
hand, the art program
at IU left a lot to be desired, and after a year i moved on to another 
school.
in any discipline there will be forward thinkers and those with 
blinders on.
just my 2 cents.
cheers
bruce

bruce tovsky
www.skeletonhome.com

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