Concerts of Everyday Living Response

I thought the overwhelming theme of the Concerts of Everyday Living article was the relationship between music and the composition and performance of it, to what we see and perceive. This concept is examined in relation to Fluxus artists and many examples are given in terms of how these artists tried to examine that relationship (between sight and sound), in their work.

For example, the article describes Cage's four and a half minute silent "performance," in which the performance demands that the audience takes on an active role by listening and looking. Also the article refers to George Brecht's Incidental Music in which objects such as beans are repeatedly dropped onto the keys of a piano.

I tend to think of Fluxus as more of an interactive performance art than a musical piece or concert, i thought the article really was trying to examine the relationship between the audience's perception and expectations during a performance, which is what Fluxus does. The Fluxus performer or artist's role is to create and maintain an environment where the audience experience constitutes having the tables flipped so to speak, and they become part of the performance.

One part of this essay that i thought was particularly interesting and really ties into the idea of the environment, audience and material performed all coming together to form the dynamic of a performance, was the section where the composer Wagner's role in modern theatrical performances is highlighted. Wagner was the first person to request that the auditorium be darkened before and during a performance. When this is done, it ensures that we begin to listen carefully. Since, as audience members, our visual capacity is obviously reduced when it is dark, we are forced to rely keenly on our other senses like sight and ability to listen. To me, this simple idea almost forces an audience to focus before and during a performance. Pure genius!