The following message was posted to: dance-tech
David,
David Vaughn (by way of dance-tech-admin@dancetechnology.org) wrote:
>
>I'd argue that if the system is in fact fuzzy, you can't play it
>intuitively, because it's response will not be constant. A good tool
>will be as precise as you need in a given circumstance. If you want
>to increase the out-of-focus, you do it. . . . .
>
>
>But I believe that a great artist presents a rich and ambiguous
>image that is absolutely controlled. The fact that no one knows
>which philosophical side Shakespear takes in his plays doesn't mean
>there is anything random there. It is rich and ambiguous and
>perfectly controlled.
I haven't weighed in on this because, for the most part, we
are really just talking about aesthetic preferences in both tools and
output. And we should all be thankful that there are tools of varying
fuzziness, or at least whose fuzziness might be messed with by
various artists. But I do want to take issue with one aesthetic
assumption you are making, and that is that "control" is a value unto
itself. As an improviser with and without technology, I am bored by
too much control. I want the "systems" that I interact with
(technology, other people) to require me to renogiate my
circumstances at any given moment. Some control allows me to define a
general atmosphere or direction for a piece, but too much control can
make it stale. There is nothing duller, within my aesthetic, than
techno-performance based on God-like control of the media.
>
>
>Sure Cage helped us to listen in new ways. But if art becomes only
>the receiver, with the transmitter giving up all responsibility,
>then the listener doesn't need an artist. I'm not interested in
>artists telling me what to think, but I do want them to give me food
>for thought. Fuzz I can find anywhere.
>
Cage had tightly controlled frameworks for many of his pieces,
but did not even wish to control all of the content. A good example
was the piece he did for several radios. The score tightly determined
when and how each radio would be heard in relation to the others, but
he had no control over what was actually received on those radios at
the precise moment of any particular performance. The score gave it
shape, not control.
Kent De Spain
----------------------------------------
The Dance-Tech mailing list has recently moved to a new address. To post a
message, send email to dance-tech@dancetechnology.org. To unsubscribe, send
email to lists@dancetechnology.org, with the words "unsubscribe dance-tech" in
the message body.
----------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : 09/08/03