Philosophy of the Performing Arts

202 performance as art
This description captures what is prescribed to performers of La Monte
Young’s Composition 1960 #7. We might think this is simply a variant on (1),
differing in that the element of improvisation or interpretation on the part
of the performer relates to the manner in which the tones are generated
and the length of time for which they are sustained. But we might be more
cautious when we learn that the other works making up Young’s Compositions
1960 include prescriptions to release a butterfly in the auditorium, to “draw
a straight line and follow it,” and to attempt to push a piano through the wall
of the auditorium!^3
(3) “Tacet. For any instrument or instruments.” The piece is in three
movements, lengths of the movements being 30 ̋, 2 ́ 23 ̋, and 1 ́ 40 ̋.
This is one account^4 of what is prescribed to players of John Cage’s noto-
rious 4 ́ 33 ̋. David Tudor gave the initial “performance” of this piece
at Maverick Concert Hall, Woodstock, New York, in August 1952. He
elected to punctuate the piece by closing and opening the piano lid to
mark the beginning and end of each “movement.” He also followed assidu-
ously the “score” for the piece, which, naturally, was devoid of musical
notation save for bar lines. Cage determined the length of the movements
by a chance device, reputed to have been the I Ching. When we learn that
the principal influences on the development of La Monte Young’s music
prior to his Compositions 1960 were his encounter with Cage and his
familiarity with the white canvases produced by his friend, the painter
Robert Rauschenberg, our initial reading of (2) as a thin performable
musical work becomes less secure.
(4) “Colour ink wash: the background is grey, blue, grey, blue; left pyramid:
the apex is left – four sides: 1 – red, blue, blue, red, blue; 2 – yellow, blue, grey,
blue; 3 – grey, grey, blue, red, red; 4 – red, grey, red; right pyramid: the apex is
centre – four sides: 1 – grey, grey; 2 – grey, red, yellow; 3 – yellow, grey, blue,
blue; 4 – grey, blue, red, red.”
This description identifies Wall Drawing No. 623 Double asymmetrical pyra-
mids with colour ink washes superimposed , a piece by the visual artist Sol
LeWitt. It was executed on November 14 to 17, 1989 in the National
Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and is displayed together with the above
description. It is one of over a thousand “wall drawings,” all of which
are specified in a similar manner. Murals generated in compliance with
LeWitt’s specifications are not painted by LeWitt, but by other artists
who “execute” his plan.