[silence] Cage's Software?

[Katherine Setar]

Dear Brian,

What an interesting question.  I can't say I know anything about Cage 
specific use of a commercially prepared "software."  I am guessing that 
Cage liked the process of doing his I Ching and other chance operations 
manually, as it were, as a means of "enlightenment"--to further his 
perceptions of sounds, but I really don't know for sure.

One place to start is to look at Cage's collaborations with Lejaren 
Hiller.  The work HPSCHD (1969) springs to mind, which was realized on 
the University of Illinois--Urbana's computer.  (See "Environmental 
Abundance,"  in Kostelanetz, Richard, ed.  JOHN CAGE:  AN ANTHOLOGY (New 
York:  Da Capo Paperback, 1970,) pp. 173-175.

I don't think the term "software" is at all appropriate to a piece from 
1969. Computers were pretty primitive in those days;  I assume Hiller 
specifically wrote the program for the performance on something like IBM 
cards.

Would Cage have collaborated with other computer-expert types?

Anybody have any better insights?

Katherine Setar
silence-request@list.mail.virginia.edu wrote:
> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. (no subject) (Brian B. James)
> Hello....
> 
> I am a student at Mills College studying with David Bernstein. I am  
> looking for any software that Cage used for composition/chance  
> operations/ect. Does anyone know of a place to get the software Cage  
> used, or can anyone direct me to someone that may have copies? I am  
> beginning to build a Cage reference application for the Macintosh.  
> Also, I have built a John Cage Mac OSX Dashboard widget called the  
> iCage if anybody is interested....it can be downloaded at http:// 
> www.bbjames.com/downloads.html. Thanks...
> 
> Brian B, James