Listening and Knowing

I compose for expression through sound of a universal sense of being.

That is the "statement", and there are no others to diminish the art of experience.

Ghost Stories

Consider the reality of things left unexpressed that are beyond living memory.

The artist as antiquarian may reconstruct impressions to evoke settings, moments, characters, and something of the mood and tone of obscure imagery otherwise utterly lost.  These are perceptions outside the parameters of what is effortlessly known, and their value is immeasurable.

Force of Suggestion

Totalitarian society establishes the foundation of coercive rule.

Innovation vanishes with imagination; originality in the arts dies first, long before tanks roll.

Of The Unexpected

In a free culture, the unexpected creative expression is regarded highly.

Where only the expected expression is accepted and tolerated, there find a totalitarian society.

Transmission XI

Artistic works prior to the introduction of mass electronic media convey diverse expressions.

These works are the result of individuality and tradition, rather than being a reflection of a common intellectual and emotional currency. This individuality of voice held firm until the latter quarter of the twentieth century, when it was gradually overcome by the conformity of idea and opinion rigidly held in force by the dominant, globally-informed media of contemporary times.

One need not think when one can assume a perspective and attitude already fully formed.

Thought and Memory II

Individual expression reflects knowledge in the abstract as well as direct experience.

So it is with any endeavor refined and elevated to the point at which it exists, evolves, and conveys meaning in the form of art.

Exercise XIV

Focus the attention on an abstract idea.

Take account of imagery evoked and events, both visual and auditory, suggested by the abstraction and its meanings. Develop these as aesthetically informed compositions within any desirable limits.

Gesture and Resonance

Cultural environments may or may not impose conditions upon perspective.

Artistic perspective is concerned with vision, concept, finished work, total effect. and little else.

Against the Enervating

The artist today is well-advised to seek perspectives outside the cultural mainstream.

This is not to say it is necessary to focus the attention away from tradition or the self-evident good in society and culture, but to risk the observation that these may, in fact, be far removed from the norms in common currency and worthy of interest and perusal.  Very little is as it appears to be.

The Unseen Path

A common perspective is, by definition, mundane.  So, in fact, is its opposite.

That which is forward-thinking comes into being by individual and independent thought, neither commonplace nor contrary to the expected, but sui generis, outside and distant from agenda and ideology.  This is thought as art, and contemplation as elevated experience leading toward solution-based outcomes.

Sparks in the Night

Indefensible perspectives and ideas cannot withstand dissent and debate.

For such benighted ideologies to attain and hold cultural dominance, all contrary expressions must be silenced.  There are places where this is possible, and conditions that make this possible.

Where one voice is raised, others will rise.

Courage, Risk, and the Avant-Garde

Art cannot exist in a totalitarian social environment.

It can only go underground.  Wherever in the shadows it may be glimpsed, it must be defended.

Music for Polymorphic Listening

Sounds in combinations form constructions, and these, in juxtaposition with other sounds, evolve.

This evolution develops an extended structure, or design, based upon simple tones or other chosen sound events. These may then be increased or decreased in scope by adding or removing elements, and continued to any duration desirable according to the aesthetic judgement of the composer.

The total effect of such compositions varies with the perceptual awareness of the listener, who is not directed to the specific experience of "the movement of sound through time".

Unknown Unknowns

Unnecessary information is ubiquitous, and stultifying.

Essential information consists of all that is forgotten, or not yet known. Go in this direction.

Value and Respect

All cultural roles are available to the artist, for whom choice and responsibility are one.

One's duty is to one's art, not to social expectations, academic and cultural criticism, or the various "demands" of the public.

It is self-reliance, coupled with individual freedom, that makes this possible.

Known, Unknown

In every art, it is gesture that determines outcomes.

Neither the assertive act nor the reserved one guarantees success or failure. The authentic gesture accomplishes everything, while the artificial, forced, or otherwise unsound gesture realizes nothing.

Command Line

Illusions are wrought, and delusions fixed in minds, through words, imagery, and sounds.

But this is the ultimate consequence of a culturally bereft society and the concomitant darkness that eradicates the future, first of individuals, then of generations, then of civilizations.

Levitation and Somnolence

In contemporary culture, observe a pervading, and rather benighted, materialism.

It is a point of view without a fragment of merit, one unworthy of empathy, and one that most often sees good will as a weakness to be exploited.

This is not a modern perspective, being far too incurious and complacent. It is by no means a measure of sophistication to claim to believe that every question of grand moment is long settled, and that life, being metaphysically worthless, is fit only for an ideal of epicurean hedonism.

The abysmally ignorant arrive such a conclusion with far less effort than the "highly-educated".

No, the modern perspective is informed, analytical, and cognizant of cultural and historical forces that elevate the fundamentals of human understanding.

Here, find the voice of perception, realism, and critical, open awareness that says, "There is much more to experience, much more to be known. There is always more."

Exercise XIII

In any setting, consider the various ways in which limits apply to the conditions.

This is not to determine what is possible or what is not possible, but rather to observe the ways in which unforeseen outcomes might be set in motion within the confines of control and restriction.

Restrain what is predictable, directing action toward intention or purpose if, and only if, the desired effect is clearly realizable.  The result is a decisive gesture, whether concrete or abstract in nature.

This is true of artistic gesture, communicative expression, games, or other activities with set "rules", yet it cannot be otherwise that it involves risk.

Time, Now

The warrior, the sage, and the artist have the same existential mandate.

By virtue of every available power, bring Time Future into Time Present.