[silence] Aesthetics

[MITCHELL RENNER]

I've studied the subject of "aesthetics" very little, so I'm little informed as to classifications.  But I will supply a few important points I feel are worth making.  In my studies of Cage, I realized two main stated purposes - one, of non-intentionality or lack of purpose, as you mention; and two, "to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences."  (from Coomaraswamy)  Notice one is a negative and one a positive.  Stylistically, Cage also leaned towards composing monophonically (one line, voice, or idea at a time), as opposed to polyphonically.  The outcomes of engaging these concepts in his work can then be derived in terms of aesthetics.  Non-intentionality leads to aleatoric (random) devices to generate music, music "to sober and quiet" leads to the monophonic style with frequent use of silence and the spacing of the music, and the monophonic style itself lends to simplicity, clarity, very tangible music - sound as sound.  I know there is more to add than this, but it's' what I have to offer at this moment.  You can obviously go and find some of Cage's music that will veer off in other directions but these are the mainstays, in my opinion, of his work.  I would also not ignore the profound influences of Zen Buddhism and eastern art, and transcendentalism, in Cage's work.

> Dear Silencers,
> 
> I was wondering if anybody is familiar with studies of Cage's music (and his ideas about music) from the perspective of aesthics (in the modern, Western tradition). 
> Much of the Cage scholarship I've encountered seems to re-state Cage's intentions (of non-intentionality) as an explanation of his aesthetic position. While I don't have a problem with this approach, I'm looking for articles, book chapters or monographs that try to place Cage's work within aesthetic categories, like those categories attributed to Leonard Meyer (Formalists, Absolutist Expressionist, Referential Expressionist), as well as categories by other aestheticians of music. The work of Alastair Williams, in his contribution to the Cambridge Companion to John Cage as well as his own book 'New Music and the Claims of Modernity', is the sort of approach I am looking for.
> 
> I am exploring aesthetics with the intention of using Cage's music, not so much to re-define established aesthetic categories but rather, to re-evaluate how such categories are drawn.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Russell Goodwin

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