For over twenty years I have been writing articles and giving lectures.
Many of them have been unusual in form— this is especially true of the lec-
tures—because I have employed in them means of composing analogous to
my composing means in the field of music. My intention has been, often, to
say what I had to say in a way that would exemplify it; that would, con-
ceivably, permit the listener to experience what I had to say rather than
just hear about it. This means that, being as I am engaged in a variety of
activities, I attempt to introduce into each one of them aspects convention-
ally limited to one or more of the others.
So it was that I gave about 1949 my Lecture on Nothing at the Artists’
Club on Eighth Street in New York City (the artists’ club started by Robert
Motherwell, which predated the popular one associated with Philip Pavia,
Bill de Kooning, et al. ) . This Lecture on Nothing was written in the same
rhythmic structure I employed at the time in my musical compositions
( Sonatas and Interludes, Three Dances, etc. ) . One of the structural divi-
sions was the repetition, some fourteen times, of a single page in which
occurred the refrain, “If anyone is sleepy let him go to sleep.” Jeanne
Reynal, I remember, stood up part way through, screamed, and then said,
while I continued speaking, “John, I dearly love you, but I can’t bear
another minute.” She then walked out. Later, during the question period,
I gave one of six previously prepared answers regardless of the question
asked. This was a reflection of my engagement in Zen.
John Cage, SILENCE Lectures and writings, 1961
Combining a vocal performance with a live soundtrack composed of digitally manipulated sounds, many of which are sourced from the area around the performance venue, performers Michael Hunter and Derek Phillips reconstruct and reinterpret Cage’s iconic 1949 lecture performance.