View, World

Work of artistic merit is of paramount importance.

Nonetheless, the perspective of the artist is revealing.  My own is undeniably United States, Southern, Native American, of Wales, Germany, Great Britain, Appalachian poverty, Protestant Gothic, Stoic Realism, and Eastern European obscurity.  I am one who hears what others see.

Extinction of Ideas

Without thought there is only the necessity to conform. And it is a necessity, a survival skill.

This need never be, as with thought comes foresight, yet when the human condition trends toward vanity, self-obsession, and complacency, it is an ever-present danger. Thus the connection between the ancient and modern Stoic, the Zen archer, and the 21st century avant-garde artist and composer.

All must strike the same target in darkness.

Above the Hollow

Human skill sets exist that are neither intellectual nor physical.

These non-cognitive, perceptual abilities involve persistence of engagement, acquisition of aesthetic perspectives, and experiential recognition of objective reality in contrast to cultural narratives or "mere appearances".  They are also essential to what is commonly recognized as an individual's work ethic, whether in scholarly, artistic, athletic or business pursuits.

Development of such capacities enhances awareness and perception, and expands consciousness as well, but interest in these things is rare in any age or cultural setting.

Media Fog

Artists of integrity are never less than honest brokers of cultural information.

Artistic communication is often shadow-play, nevertheless, yet artists direct the attention to the places where they dwell, either toward light or darkness.

This understanding is the responsibility of the audience-- but it is not always present.

What is Called

Methodologies of music represent ways of controlling sound.

Yet there are other forms, other models. Every environment is a listening environment, whether music-- or control-- is present or not.

Echoes Fade, Anticipation Forms

Listen toward the silence.

The artist as composer expects time past, remembers time future, and expresses in time present.

Force of Memory

Note the collective mentality of cultural groups who demand their biases be reinforced by art.

Control of media and the public debate leads only to more control, and consolidation of power in the hands of fewer, more totalitarian, agents of the status quo.  Imagine scenarios in which "art" must be approved by the state or (other controlling forces) because specific ideas and content are acceptable, and no others.  But it is not necessary to imagine, and one need only observe these forces at work.

Alt / Experiment II

Not music, but a panorama of sounds, dynamic in movement and tonal qualities.

As sounds evolve in a state of dreaming, without planning and interference, so they may be understood and brought into reality through perceptivity and imagination,

These are expressions beyond the composer's ego.  Rather, they are expressions of phenomena.

Simulacrum, or State Otherwise

Popular innovations are few.

For commercial purposes, and particularly in terms of musical forms, the rule is imitation, and thus works and performances are relegated to genre.  In the arts, this is indefensible.

There is no breathing room in such narrow confines. Survival is one thing, and commercial viability is another. But to create, really innovate on an individualistic, heightened level of awareness, one must break away altogether, even if no form exists in which to function.

Such forms, which are as yet unimagined, must be made real.

Wild Cry, Left at Great Distance

It is misleading to suggest culture is in a state of decline.

Popular culture is perpetually in a state of decline, based, as it is, upon the notion of "living only for the moment".  Forward-thinking is anathema in such conditions, which are always characterized by absurd emotionalism, squandered passion, insipid vainglory, and the stale idea that some ill-defined, nebulous "we" are "all in this together".

I am interested in art produced by individuals, for individuals.  In composition, it is always my goal to expand, not limit, and elevate consciousness.

This, at all times, defines my perspective on the modern world.

Order of Progress

The way of the artist is that of the individualistic gesture.

Of course this is existential rebellion, in opposition to the common, the mundane, and the self- righteously complacent everywhere manifest in contemporary culture at all times.

Who will think, rather than be told, will reach beyond the surface of appearances.  For the artist as composer, this is the critical choice between music that now exists and sounds that must instead be brought into being.

Illusion and Cold Light

As an artist, one may not be devoted to the arts at the expense of life's necessities and long survive.

Yet neither may a consumer culture deny the value of the arts while appropriating the contributions of artists. A society that accepts and condones blatant thievery of intellectual property will ultimately incur the consequences of both brutish ignorance and unrestrained self-indulgence.

Regardless, the artist, poet, and composer will not be silenced, nor the dancer paralyzed.

Withheld, Obscured

Consider those things not revealed.

It may be necessary to renew the idea of  "secret societies", as they were known in the past, simply to continue to convey concepts of realism and objectivity to those capable of making such judgments.

The artist must trust perceptivity.  For the artist, the eye, and for the composer, the ear, must reveal insights that may be expressed.  This is especially critical in a culture which declines to the state in which one may call day, night, and night, day, only to be celebrated for claiming such "belief".

Promoveo, promovi, promotum.

Commission

The Black Mountain School project creates sound environments.

These sound environments are designed to complement diverse settings by replicating the paradigms of spontaneously occurring aural phenomena, both "natural" and "man-made".  As such, these works are not predicated upon concepts that are traditionally "musical", but rather upon the perceptual qualities of active listening and passive hearing.  Such perspectives are associated with apprehension of tones, patterns, and myriad variations of sonic impressions, some based upon aesthetic constructs of the visual arts.

Peculiar methods and techniques necessary to compose sonic atmospheres of this nature originate solely with the Black Mountain School project and continue to be developed in our studio.  While the listener may detect a host of artistic influences, these are unavoidably displaced in the course of the work by the intent and goals of the compositions and recordings.  In objective terms, the discriminating listener will find no other "experimental" or "mainstream" productions that are analogous to the work of Black Mountain School.

Were it otherwise the case, the project would have no purpose, and no raison d'être.

Vanguard and Context

It has been said that Picasso was as familiar with the work of the Old Masters as he was his own.  Andy Warhol's final series of paintings was based on variations of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper.  John Cage utilized the Classic of Changes, or I Ching, as a musical composition tool.

The avant-garde does not appear out of a vacuum, rootless, without foundation, directionless and devoid of cultural reference.  As a manifestation of the artistic impulse, it reflects elements of the cultural sensibilities of the artist, whether the goal is to advance traditional forms or break with them altogether.

In contemporary terms, this manifestation may encompass all cultures, all of history, and all human expression.

Cast a Cold Eye

If everyone is an artist, only the exceptional and the very strange leave an impression.

Culturally, an intellectual fascination with the idea of chaos prevailed for many decades.  Naturally it became prevalent in popular culture and remains so, to the degree it is commercially viable.  And it remains an issue of academic or quasi-intellectual importance, particularly in the arts, in which the "transgressive" is viewed as having value for its own sake, or conferring value to the artist.  Such value is so rare as to be almost nonexistent, as the so-called transgressive has become no more than redundant repetition of the clichéd act of shocking the bourgeoisie.  It has committed the cardinal sin of becoming boring.

The idea of order evolves accordingly.

Warhol

Popular culture is to culture what popular opinion is to sound judgement.

It can be a hit-or-miss proposition.