Beginnings

I leave tomorrow to begin The Silence Project, funded by a grant for research and new media.

Based on John Cage's book by that title, the project looks at Cage's work as it interfaces with new media. The aim, following Cage's example, is to produce a series of lecture-conversations as well as anecdotes surrounding them. Further, like Cage, the project does not create a hierarchy between text and anecdote; it integrates them.

The project differs from Cage's in two ways: (1) events will be documented simultaneously with on-line recordings, and anecdotes will be created, crafted, and edited on the blog (alongside notes for anecdotes and other musings). (2) All names in the anecdotes will be given random generations. No real names will be used. The method for generating these names – it must be precise – will be determined in the next few days. The reasons for this choice will be pursued in future posts.

There will be three venues for the lecture-conversations: the Jan Van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, Netherlands (May 29); the Based in Berlin festival (June 23); and the MFA Program at Bard College (date TBD) (also home of the John Cage Trust). Webspace to upload the conversations is currently being negotiated. The first conversation will focus on Cage's notion of indeterminacy; the second on pessimism versus optimism in the cultural community; the third on the notion of precision. The second and third events will be co-given with Alexi Kukuljevic and Nick Keys, respectively.

The thesis: Cage's goal is to turn history into indeterminacy by way of the technological production of global transparency. The method is precision. The ethics are formally situational, and their content is compassion.

The task of the lecture-conversations and the blog will be to unfold this still unclear (perhaps unwieldy) claim within a communal setting. None of the lectures have been written. Based loosely on the methodology of the "How to Get Started" Project of the Slought Foundation, each will be the extemporaneous exposition of ideas working from scattered notes. Participants are encouraged to reply, question, interrupt – both in person and on the blog.

People following the blog are encouraged to read the Cage texts from Silence posted here (the text by B. Joseph is helpful as well): http://www.marginalutility.org/machete-group/2011/machete-group-19-february-2011/ (The Machete zine will also publish some more polished thoughts from the lecture in the July issue.)

…more to come….