TitleRichard Kostelanetz lecture at the Cage Symposium at Wesleyan University: "The anarchist art of the polyartist", 1988-02-24
NamesMerce Cunningham Dance Company (Associated name)Kostelanetz, Richard (Speaker)Wesleyan University (Middletown, Conn.) (Host)
CollectionMerce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials
Dates / OriginDate Created: 1988-02-24
Library locationsRodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded SoundShelf locator: *LTC-A 1661
TopicsCage, JohnCage, John -- HPSCHDCage, John -- RoaratorioJoyce, James, 1882-1941 -- Finnegans wakeKostelanetz, Richard -- Conversing with CageMoholy-Nagy, László, 1895-1946Aleatory music -- History and criticismArt and music
GenresLectures
NotesContent: Contains Richard Kostelanetz's lecture at Wesleyan University as part of the Cage Symposium celebrating John Cage's 75th birthday.Content: Title, speaker, date, and location provided by cataloger based on handwritten and typed notes on original container and cassette, and audition.Content: Handwritten note on original container: "Cage Symposium ; Richard Kostelanetz - T2". Typed note on original cassette: "Cage Symposium 2/24/88 ; Lecture - Richard Kostelanetz ; Wesleyan University ; Middletown, CT ; COPY".Venue: Recorded at Wesleyan University in, Middletown, Connecticut, 1988 February 24.Acquisition: Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
Physical DescriptionAudiocassetteExtent: 1 audiocassette (66 minutes) : analogSound quality is mostly good; the speaker is recorded at a distance from the microphone but is clearly audible.
DescriptionStreaming file 1, side 1: Unidentified speaker briefly introduces Richard Kostelanetz, ca. 0:00-0:16; Richard Kostelanetz remarks on the initiative of Wesleyan University to offer tenure to "Cageians" as well as the University's support of experimental musicians; he speaks about coining the term "polyartists" and defines it; his book on [László] Moholy-Nagy [Moholy-Nagy, New York: Praeger, 1970]; he lists those figures he considers to be "polyartists" as well as related artistic movements; Moholy-Nagy's artistic works and style [in relation to a slideshow displaying Moholy-Nagy's art]; he highlights a work by Moholy-Nagy from 1945 that responds to James Joyce's Finnegans wake; he relates the artistic forms of John Cage with those of Moholy-Nagy as non-centered and non-hierarchical; [ca. 20:48-22:12, plays an excerpt from The 25-Year retrospective concert of the music of John Cage (1958), performance recording of Cage's Construction in metal (1939)]; he continues to speak about "Cageian" structure; [ca. 23:35-24:48, an excerpt from Cage's Williams mix on The 25-Year retrospective concert of the music of John Cage]; several drawings by Cage that relate to Cage's music scores; Earle [Browne?], from the audience, tells a brief anecdote about the drawing; Kostelanetz continues to speak about the design of Cage's musical scores; [ca. 27:23-28:31, an excerpt of Atlas eclipticalis (1961) played with Winter music (1957)]; attending the premiere performance of Cage's HPSCHD (1969) at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana; [ca. 30:15-31:34, an excerpt of Cage's HPSCHD]; Cage's "plexigram" sculptures, Not wanting to say anything about Marcel (1969); briefly, Cage's experimental writings, including A year from Monday [: New Lectures and Writings, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1967]; Cage's use of chance methods; the non-hierarchical structure of Cage's Notations, [New York: Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, 1969]; Cage's mesostic poetry; [ca. 39:33-40:22, an excerpt from Cage's Mureau (1970)]; briefly, Cage's use of Henry David Thoreau's text for Mureau, and the subsequent, Empty words (1973-1978); [ca. 40:55-42:18, an excerpt from Empty words, part 4 (1974)]; Kostelanetz describes Cage's reworkings of Finnegans wake, especially Roaratorio (1979); [ca. 43:18-45:07, an excerpt from Roaratorio]; briefly, his assertion of Cage as a polyartist; he reads from a statement by Jackson Mac Low; ends abruptly.
Streaming file 2, side 2: Begins abruptly, Richard Kostelanetz continues to read from a statement by Jackson Mac Low; he speaks about the ways in which John Cage's egalitarian politics are expressed in the form of his works; the Living Theatre's play Paradise now (1968) in comparison with Cage's works; a brief statement on Cage by Morton Feldman; Kostelanetz speaks about his admiration of Cage and his recent book: Conversing with Cage [New York: Limelight Editions, 1988]; he reads passages from the last chapter in Conversing with Cage to illustrate Cage's ethos about art and politics, especially in relation to anarchist politics of the 1930s; [ca. 15:37, audience applause]; [ca. 16:27-19:36, question and answer session with the audience]; ends abruptly.
Type of ResourceSound recording
LanguagesEnglish
IdentifiersRLIN/OCLC: 933583031NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20868033Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): fc3b28c0-b94f-0133-83ab-3c07547a230f
Rights StatementThis item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Item timeline of events
-
-
-
-
