Chance Conversations: An Interview with Merce Cunningham and John Cage

In the spring of 1981, during a residency at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, choreographer Merce Cunningham and composer John Cage sat down to discuss their work and artistic process. As frequent collaborators, Cage and Cunningham pioneered a new framework of performance. Their novel approach allowed for mediums to exist independently, or rather cohabitate, within a performance, thus abandoning the co-dependent model of dance and music. Cage and Cunningham go on to discuss the methodology and motivations behind chance operations, a term used to describe artistic decisions based on unpredictability. Wanting to free himself of his likes and dislikes, Cage describes how Zen Buddhism influenced his work, leading him to use tools of chance. These new methods, adopted by both Cunningham and Cage, overturned a whole foundation of thought around music, movement, and the process of creating art.

Пікірлер: 98

  • @badazzpresidents23
    @badazzpresidents2313 жыл бұрын

    That woman is so lucky to have had the chance to talk with both of these men.

  • @finosuilleabhain7781
    @finosuilleabhain77814 жыл бұрын

    She's great. She's Interested in their answers, free of ego, and never jumps in if things are not rattling along.

  • @shawn_530
    @shawn_5307 жыл бұрын

    I just want to hug them both

  • @MattSatriani
    @MattSatriani11 жыл бұрын

    I love both their laughters.

  • @Tatiana00919

    @Tatiana00919

    7 жыл бұрын

    Me too. The photos of their laughters are awesome :)

  • @spyriadon
    @spyriadon13 жыл бұрын

    Beautiful calculated people thinking before they speak. So unlike many today.

  • @devilbodyangelheart

    @devilbodyangelheart

    3 жыл бұрын

    Totally agreed

  • @marthamydear7499

    @marthamydear7499

    2 жыл бұрын

    Agreed!

  • @hollywrenspaulding8749
    @hollywrenspaulding87499 жыл бұрын

    "It's not starting from an idea. Not starting even from the expression of the same feeling nor an exposition of the same idea but rather simply being together in the same place at the same time and leaving space around each art so that neither art has to glue itself to a particular . . ." John Cage

  • @davidl6332

    @davidl6332

    6 жыл бұрын

    ok

  • @RocketKirchner

    @RocketKirchner

    6 жыл бұрын

    Holly -- yes - Indeterminancy and calligraphy . chance and space. Form IS content .

  • @PlantOutofPot

    @PlantOutofPot

    5 жыл бұрын

    2:33 for those wondering

  • @classicalaid1
    @classicalaid122 күн бұрын

    I was attending the renowned Cooper Union School for the Advancemnt of Art and Architecture in New York City and one evening took in a performance at Lincoln Center in the late 60's. Before the show began, on a warm summer evening, I was waiting in the elegant plaza, enjoying the breeze as well as the sophisticated crowd. All at once there I was standing in front of Cunningham and Cage, and I knew exactly who they were. Well dressed and tall...they both gave me a delightful nod. Admittedly in those salad days I was a cute young man...and I think they figured so, as well. I returned the nod and shyly moved on. Were it today, I would have approached and engaged then in a lively conversation.

  • @mitcho3701
    @mitcho370111 жыл бұрын

    They are absolutely brilliant.

  • @ltesoniero
    @ltesoniero14 жыл бұрын

    Iv been struggeling to write an essay on these 2 for a couple of days now. This interview has been a massive help. thanks.

  • @Edgelordess
    @Edgelordess4 жыл бұрын

    Cage's voice is so relazing. I wish someone just took interview clips of him and made an asmr video.

  • @williamolsen20
    @williamolsen202 жыл бұрын

    I love how wonderfully adventurous, and flexible they are in their approach to their art, and life. They seem like truly joyful, and fulfilled human beings.

  • @badazzpresidents23
    @badazzpresidents2313 жыл бұрын

    They are both such brilliant and loving people :)

  • @michaelboyce
    @michaelboyce15 күн бұрын

    wonderful conversation

  • @honeybozo
    @honeybozo2 жыл бұрын

    Excellent class on the creative process: very inspirational.

  • @pau1more1
    @pau1more115 жыл бұрын

    great interview! Thank you, Walker Art Center!

  • @jakeyccc5788
    @jakeyccc57883 жыл бұрын

    I met them both Charming

  • @DADA090161
    @DADA09016114 жыл бұрын

    thank you verry much for this video !! great !!!!

  • @Curetiamhices
    @Curetiamhices15 жыл бұрын

    two Masters!!!! this is a good class!

  • @galileoshift8330
    @galileoshift83306 жыл бұрын

    Doors opened listening to this itw #thankyou

  • @AnthonyAvery
    @AnthonyAvery2 жыл бұрын

    what wonderful collaborators and lovers

  • @KarolisBiveinis
    @KarolisBiveinis15 жыл бұрын

    very nice video, thank you!

  • @qtyqty4
    @qtyqty414 жыл бұрын

    this is most deficient from all ways.thank you.

  • @bayzhit
    @bayzhit11 жыл бұрын

    For those of you who didn't know, these two were romantically involved at this time. Not that it particularly matters, but interesting piece of background knowledge

  • @chickenflavor9880

    @chickenflavor9880

    2 жыл бұрын

    What

  • @williamolsen20

    @williamolsen20

    2 жыл бұрын

    I thought they were a couple until the end of their lives, they certainly behave like people that love and respect each other.

  • @fortsqueamish9630
    @fortsqueamish963011 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant

  • @taha._.kianmehr
    @taha._.kianmehr2 жыл бұрын

    Very goooood♥️♥️❤️

  • @juliodanza14
    @juliodanza1411 жыл бұрын

    que artistas tan geniales

  • @stofnun6091
    @stofnun60918 жыл бұрын

    Bert and Ernie.

  • @Experimentelle
    @Experimentelle11 жыл бұрын

    a creative thinker

  • @ScottBuckBands
    @ScottBuckBands13 жыл бұрын

    @beatlesmack9 Mr Cage wrote quite a bit of wonderful "straight" music for strings and piano. His compositions in the more classical style are very lovely and beautiful.

  • @lindaknibbs7516
    @lindaknibbs75163 жыл бұрын

    Genteel gentlemen. Geniuses.

  • @toborexperiment
    @toborexperiment12 жыл бұрын

    I would have gave an arm to meet them back then...

  • @deinokyrnos1
    @deinokyrnos112 жыл бұрын

    listen to Cage playing Morton Feldman.The backround noise from coughing to car honking is emiinent.

  • @EricUngerMusic
    @EricUngerMusic13 жыл бұрын

    @speedskis777 they seem to me to be speaking quite plainly and clearly about their working processes, which i find refreshing, especially considering how difficult their work can seem. to know the specific roots and bases of their practices is illuminating to me. mine is just one perspective, but maybe watch the interview again and reconsider their what they are saying about their approaches, or perhaps take a look at the i ching, for example. idk, maybe it just isn't for everyone.

  • @thatguy5557123
    @thatguy555712313 жыл бұрын

    where can i see these performances? does any one know?

  • @cuvieradaptations
    @cuvieradaptations2 жыл бұрын

    I sometimes dream of meeting the New York school of composition.

  • @dominicklicciardi
    @dominicklicciardi2 жыл бұрын

    Surely the chance traffic and strange noises in the background are no mistake, or are they…hmm.

  • @lilsaintrico93
    @lilsaintrico938 жыл бұрын

    Hello everybody. Any idea where to get this on DVD??// to buy it? Please help.

  • @rolo1052
    @rolo10528 жыл бұрын

    Does anyone know if there was ever a joint interview between Cage , Cunningham and Rauschenberg. Perhaps about Aeon or something in relation to their collaborations?

  • @marthamydear7499

    @marthamydear7499

    2 жыл бұрын

    I wondered the same thing. I find this discussion to be incredibly important. Would love to see more group interviews!

  • @nobodady1
    @nobodady113 жыл бұрын

    @beatlesmack9 Whether what he composes is music or something else is a separate question ----- he certainly composed, that is, put things together ---- instructions involved in the production of sounds. Cage even said himself that if one has trouble referring to what he is composing as music one can call it something else.

  • @pianoatUtube
    @pianoatUtube13 жыл бұрын

    @beatlesmack9 music IS sound, sound IS music... best regards... :)

  • @orion_nectro.x
    @orion_nectro.x11 жыл бұрын

    i'm sure John would have loved that.

  • @Experimentelle
    @Experimentelle11 жыл бұрын

    I hope it was intentional...it sounds fantastic... like the weather...

  • @LostandFoundTravel
    @LostandFoundTravel13 жыл бұрын

    @Consciousish Favorite comment of 2011.

  • @Anawika
    @Anawika7 жыл бұрын

    Hello, may anybody tell me which is the book that Cage pronounce at minute 26:20 please?. Thank you very much in advance. Ana.

  • @AttitudeCastle

    @AttitudeCastle

    7 жыл бұрын

    Lankavatara Sutra for anyone wondering :)

  • @marthamydear7499

    @marthamydear7499

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@AttitudeCastle Thank you! 😊👏🏻

  • @richardvanelli4337
    @richardvanelli43378 жыл бұрын

    A valid opinion on an artform is not predicated on knowing the difference between right and write, or even the omission of punctuation, zaneisthemaster. I am not agreeing with this opinion, just not judging it on usage of language. Maybe you misinterpreted the meaning of the phrase "he didn't right music". Cage certainly did turn music or sound on it's ass for us to consider.

  • @sleepytimejesse
    @sleepytimejesse13 жыл бұрын

    Who the fuck's idea was it to sit awkwardly in the center of a large gymnasium next to a busy road.

  • @CheekyFest

    @CheekyFest

    4 жыл бұрын

    Have you heard John Cage talk about traffic?

  • @badazzpresidents23
    @badazzpresidents2313 жыл бұрын

    @SnapshotsMusic No. He wasn't. Although Zappa did say something along the lines of finding John Cage's work more interesting to read and how it was written rather than how it actually sounded.

  • @marthamydear7499

    @marthamydear7499

    2 жыл бұрын

    That’s how I think about Zappa’s music. LOL

  • @arvidsmith1038
    @arvidsmith1038 Жыл бұрын

    Great conversation ... Merce is Harpo Marx with a towering intellect..... Merce came here in 83 and the Arts Assembly / Cultural Council had to apologize to the backward arts community here that 'next time we'll use real music." At his lecture at Jacksonville Univ. I asked his influence on performance art ( then real hot ). Merce emphatically but gently answered me " I Do Dances" ... The dance students in attendance had no idea who he was and could only ask inane questions about 'making it ' in the dance world..... he was very patient and gracious to these imbeciles.

  • @trianglebook3616
    @trianglebook36163 жыл бұрын

    Chance can be translated so differently if we want to keep their definition of chance straight

  • @mike8015
    @mike80157 жыл бұрын

    21:45

  • @licenselessrider4486
    @licenselessrider44867 жыл бұрын

    merce looks like an elf

  • @dongxinjiang1770
    @dongxinjiang17702 жыл бұрын

    - "The difference between ear and eye system is you can hear behind them" 0.0 After 5 secs - "it's true" Why words like that spoken from them are so different than from a kindergarten child?

  • @IainEmslie
    @IainEmslie12 жыл бұрын

    @sleepytimejesse I think it was intentional.

  • @Madeirasdetodobrasil
    @Madeirasdetodobrasil13 жыл бұрын

    @beatlesmack9 compose, from latin componere, com - together; ponere - to put. a composer is someone who puts together.

  • @robhaskins
    @robhaskins11 жыл бұрын

    Who is the interviewer?

  • @emmmiloveyou

    @emmmiloveyou

    7 жыл бұрын

    yo mamma

  • @ChadGlassify

    @ChadGlassify

    6 жыл бұрын

    I was going to ask the same thing.

  • @maxbradley1453
    @maxbradley14536 жыл бұрын

    Matt Bullock was here

  • @adrich16
    @adrich1612 жыл бұрын

    Probably it was Cage's idea, you know, for staying close to the noise.

  • @snapshotsfoundation
    @snapshotsfoundation13 жыл бұрын

    Virgil Thomson, composer and writer, said John Cage had 'no ear'. Was he right?

  • @IgorOrlic

    @IgorOrlic

    7 жыл бұрын

    Yes.

  • @MorganHayes_Composer.Pianist

    @MorganHayes_Composer.Pianist

    Жыл бұрын

    no. To take one example, try the String Quartet in Four Parts. It's delightful.

  • @GabrielWilliamsOfficial
    @GabrielWilliamsOfficial13 жыл бұрын

    this is a realy good interview if you are a fan of joh cage you have to hear gabriel williams - time travel in music

  • @bonedog3000
    @bonedog300012 жыл бұрын

    Probably Johnny Cage.

  • @SkyFlyerZayne
    @SkyFlyerZayne13 жыл бұрын

    @beatlesmack9 i dont feel you should have a valid opinion because you dont know the difference between right and write

  • @webspecific
    @webspecific Жыл бұрын

    I'd like to know the woman's name. Maybe I missed it.

  • @CaptainSpork7
    @CaptainSpork712 жыл бұрын

    @sleepytimejesse Yeah, really. Plus the reporter seems either inexperienced or simply awkward.

  • @SeymorOblivion
    @SeymorOblivion13 жыл бұрын

    one dislike how stupid !

  • @joerhodes8785
    @joerhodes87857 жыл бұрын

    We're so open minded, our brains have fallen to the ground.

  • @licenselessrider4486

    @licenselessrider4486

    7 жыл бұрын

    the skull is not the mind

  • @beatlesmack9
    @beatlesmack913 жыл бұрын

    I don't feel John Cage can rightly be called a composer because he didn't right music, but sound, and they are not the same

  • @jameskong3894

    @jameskong3894

    4 жыл бұрын

    interestingly enough, john cage said the same thing at one point, preferring to be called an inventor rather than a composer.

  • @marthamydear7499

    @marthamydear7499

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jameskong3894 Oh yes, you’re right! I forget about that comment he made. Interesting!

  • @Sheshboomer

    @Sheshboomer

    Жыл бұрын

    In addition to the graphic scores and chance procedure pieces he composed many more traditional scores

  • @MorganHayes_Composer.Pianist

    @MorganHayes_Composer.Pianist

    Жыл бұрын

    @@jameskong3894 i think Schoenberg allegedly made this comment about Cage.

  • @AliIKarimi
    @AliIKarimi9 жыл бұрын

    john cage is a charlatan whose success can be attributed to his charisma and wit, but not to his talent nor ability as a composer. love listening to his interviews, far more than his "music".

  • @CYB3RC0RP

    @CYB3RC0RP

    9 жыл бұрын

    I wouldn't call him a charlatan, but I also wouldn't call him an artist.

  • @mo-xm7kg

    @mo-xm7kg

    9 жыл бұрын

    AliIKarimi you obviously did not listen to him- he clearly outlined a project that dealt with time and cited tradition from India as an impetus.

  • @richardvanelli4337

    @richardvanelli4337

    8 жыл бұрын

    +AliIKarimi I'm glad you like his interviews, but I don't agree with your criticism of his talents and composing ability. Perhaps you should judge a discipline or artistic expression you understand. Maybe instead of labeling him a "charlatan" you could just state that you don't understand his art. I AM pleased that he elicited a reaction from you, which possibly was his intent.

  • @dionysiaex5538

    @dionysiaex5538

    7 жыл бұрын

    You, on the other hand, are just someone who comments on You Tube videos.

  • @n____________________6471

    @n____________________6471

    7 жыл бұрын

    charaltan? in which sense?

  • @pianoatUtube
    @pianoatUtube13 жыл бұрын

    @beatlesmack9 music IS sound, sound IS music... best regards... :)