John Cage Video on Ubu Web

Here's a little section of this interview with Cage that I particularly liked, he says:

"The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful, is why do I think it's not beautiful... and very shortly you discover that there's no reason. If we can conquer that dislike, or begin to like what we did dislike, then the world is more open.  That path of increasing ones enjoyment of life is the path I think we all best take. To use art not as self expression but as self-alteration, to become more open."

I really like this idea of breaking down experience into something that takes us away from our regular understanding.  To learn to listen and to appreciate everything you hear, even if it is difficult, seems like a worthwhile practice to me.  It seems aligned with the tenets of acoustic ecology, and learning to appreciate the depth of sound in the environments around us.  Listening and really understanding/appreciating the sound of a screw lodged between two piano strings will make it easier to see the beauty in the things we regularly pass over.  In general I have resisted John Cage's work because it is difficult to appreciate aesthetically, but I see that there is a great truth in getting to the root of experience and improving reception.  

This is what I think phenomenology is all about, understanding the complexity and beauty of sense experience.   

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