Reading about this performance of John Cage’s As Slow as Possible got me thinking about ideas surrounding minimalist performance.
Time often becomes the key factor of analysis. Time and its necessary corollary, transformation. In 4′ 33″ for example the only limiting factor is time. It is a work whose content is not prescribed but whose formal structure is inviolate.
In a theatrical setting minimalism takes on a slightly different form. It dilates the temporal space around action and impels contemplation of the deed.
The removal of extravagances and flurries of activity gives one pause to consider the core simplicity of action. A single gesture. A single word.
Taking pause to allow total contemplation of a single thought can be quite powerful. In a world of MTV editing one can often forget the power of single pointed attention.
As Saul Williams says “When a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.”
The space contained by 4′ 33″ reveals time as a binding agent of consciousness. The transformation and evolution of thought coexists equally in the mundane and the profound.
Tags: consciousness, john cage, minimalism, poetry, theatre, theory, time
heh, we also have Saul Williams in common.
i saw the man 6 years ago for the first time at bumbershoot ( music festival we have) in a small spoken word venue. I instantly fell in love and his words have been a major major saving grace in my life.
She is just beautiful.
You are of course familiar with the film ‘Salm’ right? I saw him live shortly after ‘Amathyst Rockstar’ came out. It was wonderful he did straight spoken word with no beats, just his words. Amazing stuff.