Read the following article and respond in a blog post using 250 words, 5 images minimum. Use gifs and vids for a more dynamic aesthetic.
One thing I really appreciate about John Cage is how open he was to being himself. It is "normal" for people to try to hide who they are so that they fit in to society. Though Cage was not always accepted, he opened the doors for more people to go against the norms of music. Now it is much more widely accepted to use everyday sounds in music, even as far as turning what we cannot hear into music. Last year, I watched a lecture on these professors who set up a vibration detection system to record the music of a spider on her web. The music was eerie and showed insight in what it is like to be a spider on your web. They went further to create a mathematical model that they could send their own virtual vibrations through. I wonder if their work was inspired by John Cage at any point - either directly or indirectly by the legacy of expanding what is music that he left behind. Below is an image of the 3D model created:
John Cage's unconventional music also reminds me of the poem "Apfel" by Reinhard Döhl. Döhl is one poet who created poems that are quite different from the typical poem. Rather than structuring the poem with just meaning, he literally constructs such poems with words. The poem "Apfel" depicts an apple containing a worm by giving both visual cues and meaning from the words that form the poem. Sentences are not used. One could compare this to how John Cage creates music that does not have the typical form of music.
Below is John Cage and Merce Cunningham, his partner. It is really admirable that they were openly gay in a time when homosexuality was not accepted at all to the point of it being more normal for people to possibly physically harm those "accused" of it.
Another interesting section of the article was about how Cage lived in "elegant poverty" - and that he found a way out of it by collecting mushrooms to sell to New York restaurants. Cage also cowrote a book on mushrooms, and cofounded the New York Mycological Society. The knowledge he gained from his detour into mycology also led him to win $8000.
John Cage was not only bullied when he was little, but also throughout his life. In the GIF below, we see Cage on the American game show “I’ve Got a Secret". What is interesting is that the host pretends to respect him but gives back handed compliments and definitely sees him more of a joke than a musician. Cage however does not show if he is offended, and proceeds to proudly present his song "Water Walk". When the host jokes to him that people might laugh, Cage says that he would rather have them laugh than cry. This shows that he knew that people were not necessarily taking him as seriously as one might like, but he was getting a response he approved of.
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