273 relics for john cage

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273 RELICS FOR JOHN CAGE



273RELICS FORJOHN CAGE

(A LIKENESSIS AN AID TO

MEMORY)PAUL SOULELLIS

2011



ONE

8 a way that the subject is stimulated rom himsel and rom the

TWO

23—(Virgo) tell about the poisonous I

26—shaped and with margin incurved or30—well

31—I’ve gotten that a lot

33—Greek words

35—produced impresses a sort o likeness o the precept just as

43—that one must consider the aection which

47—this is driving it and so

51—or on the wood

THREE

55—standing closely

58—though the stimulus or seal were applied to running

61—

70—but when one recovers some previous knowledge or

75— crispa (galera)

88—custom now takes the place o nature ast-orward to this

90—owing to chance

101—vermilion edged gills105—the

107—tuberculose

113—and that piperatus

114—experience that which customarily precedes the one which we

TEXTS



FOUR

121—obvious that one must consider the

134—I liked these thirds least

150—yeah or a mental picture use o the act that the

153—so this is the collection basket when we recollect

162—chapter xiv rain in July

166—the avorite host o this species is an apple tree small

167—is

172—or at any moment the telephone may ring or an

178—wherever you want

183—yeah188—about the size

201—o contemplation or a

207—

208—the colors

211—um

213—this case although we make no use

217—where you want (hygrophorus)

219—I must say I still eel this

232—pressed um I don’t

FIVE

234—three inches long

SIX

244—generally speaking

246—this is driving it248—contemplation in itsel and as a mental picture o

250—experienced something o the sort beore

252—(consider) it in itsel

256—time so I just had

257—but

262—

269—stem equal

270—hymenula punctiormis



ONE

3, 4, 5, 7

TWO

10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 24, 27, 28, 32, 36, 37,

38, 39, 41, 42, 44, 46, 52, 53, 54

THREE

56, 57, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 71, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80,

82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 92, 93, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 102,

104, 106, 109, 111, 112, 115, 118, 119, 120

FOUR

121, 122, 123, 125, 126, 127, 130, 131, 132, 133, 136, 137, 138,

140, 141, 142, 143, 146, 147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 155, 156, 157, 158,

159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 165, 168, 171, 173, 176, 177, 179, 181, 182,

184, 185, 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 192, 194, 195, 197, 199, 202,

203, 205, 206, 209, 210, 212, 214, 215, 218, 221, 222,

223, 224, 225, 226, 228, 229, 230, 231, 233

FIVE

SIX

235, 236, 237, 239, 240, 241, 243, 247, 249, 251, 254,

255, 258, 259, 260, 265, 267, 268, 271, 272

IMAGES



PHOTOGRAPH

On August , , I drove to The John Cage Trust at Bard College.I had a morning appointment with Laura Kuhn, ounding trustee and

ongoing executive director. To prepare or the meeting, I asked Laura

to think o a single item rom the archive. Something that John Cage

knew o in his lie. I asked her not to reveal her selection to me until we

met in person. When I arrived, she retrieved the thing; she had chosen

John Cage’s mushroom collecting basket. I took a single photograph.

PIXELS

273 Relics or John Cage begins with the moment I captured the

-megapixel image o the basket. Each picture element (pixel) in

the digital photograph reerences its source (in this case, signicant

archival material). I one ascribes meaning to the photograph, then

each o its million pixels carries with it some raction o that

signicance. Every pixel inherits the memory o its origin. Every pixel,

a relic. At the scale o the close zoom, the relics reveal pure color.

These immersive color elds link to lost memory, but also point (paint)

to uture landscapes. They open and vibrate with possibility. Latent,unconscious, phantom imagery, embedded in the relics. Every pixel,

a photograph. Using chance operations, I generated 6 pixel

extractions rom the photograph o the mushroom basket.

A SERIESOF ACTIONS



TEXTS

I chose our texts to accompany the photographic relics.

Word extractions were selected and combined using chance operations.

The texts: Aristotle’s On Memory and Recollection (35 B.C.); John Cage’s

“Lecture on Nothing” (published in Silence: Lectures and Writings, 96);

M.E. Hard’s The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise (98); and ragments

o my conversation with Laura Kuhn and her assistant,recorded on August , at The John Cage Trust.

5 text-based relics were generated.

BOOK

Each second o time in John Cage’s 4'33" (95) becomes a page

in the book. This is the structure I inherited. Each page, a reliquary.

73 operations. 73 openings. 73 opportunities. Using chance

operations, I generated a score to design the book. The scoredetermined chapter breaks, contents or each page

(text, image or blank relic) and layout.

Each relic is numbered.

PERFORMANCE

Every reading o 273 Relics or John Cage is a perormance.

Using chance operations, select a set o pages. Determine a xed

duration or the reading o each page, not less than one minute and

no more than 4 minutes, 33 seconds. Whether text, image or blank,

each page in the set is perormed, in any order. Speak the text, speak

nothing or display images, or perorm any combination o these

actions, depending on the content o the particular page.

The perormance may be private or public.



ONE



1



2



3



4



5



6



7



8

a way that the subject is stimulated rom himsel and rom the

stimuli which he contains

within

him does it matter which and it’s too bad

or a hal an hour basting with butter and water

and serve with the gravy which comes rom them that a high sound

is dierent rom a low sound even when both are

called by the same letter the stem is short

thick

solid in

young

specimens

hollow in older specimens



TWO



9



10



11



12



13



14



15



16



17



18



19



20



21



22



23

♍ (Virgo) tell about the poisonous I

here may vex more and

more we and rom OK



24



25



26

shaped and with margin incurved or

the stimulus produced impresses a sort o

likeness o the precept just as when men seal with

signet rings really really orked and with some short ones

intermixed requently

tinged with red

at

the edge

roll o the volva and the upper edge o this presenting the appearance

o having been served at the top like the rollededge o a garment or buskin

now mental image related as a likeness to that o which it is an image

it won’t have a in memory one may say that none o the

known animals can

recollect except man and

learning aresh lies that in the ormer one will be able in some way

to move on

by his own

eort to the term next ater the starting-point thissecond part is about structure our task is now to

discuss memory and

remembering o the juice



27



28



29



30

well

the rst thing that

comes to mind uhh maybe I’ll photograph the photograph

you

look a little bit like

you don’t know

that I look at you (becoming) paler toward the base

color obscure in age this is a copy



31

I’ve gotten that a lot

alright



32



33

Greek wordsmeaning youth and ringed and short

hairy

stem

will distinguish it rom all other

tree ungi (pleasure) alright was

that I’d (striate)—

tuberculate on the margin which is at rst incurved OK good I ound

only a ew

specimens in Haynes’ Hollow

on to d yeah yeah yeah irritating

eeling or it and we’re trying to be really quiet about this included in

this

order



34



35

produced impresses a sort o likeness o the precept just as

when men seal with signet rings

well other animals he chooses memory belongs to

that part

o the soul to which imagination belongs Laura equally

i they are not there)

but one thinks o them by a proportionate mental impulse

we went back and orth upon or

close to I’m Paul

Soulellis he asked me

how I would perorm it



36



37



38



39



40



41



42



43

that one must consider the aection which

is produced by sensation in the soul

and in that part o the body which

contains the soul—the

aection

the lasting state

o which we call memory—

as a kind o picture



44



45



46



47

this is driving it and so

who have good memories are not the same as those who recollect

quickly

we were nowhere corticiumoakesii sometimes

lacunose

requently

attenuated upward

at

rst stued no I

didn’t know what it is now I know in

this wayis

what one

remembers the present aection

or the original rom which it rose maybe I’ll photograph

the photograph um



48



49



50



51

or on the wood

but it’s probably

got mold on it perceived or suered

all along he passes on to d yeah collected on Johnson’s Island

Sandusky

Ohio

and photographed by Dr.

Kellerman

herculea is so called rom its large size

what’s the story behind this being the home have called it orm

(magnitude)

still puts a nite magnitude

beore his eyes though he does not think o it as

such wounds and bruises are apt to assume brownish-

red hues



52



53



54



THREE



55

standing closely

side by side but we have rabbits and raccoons and all

sorts o things out there chapter iv experience the next

oh

oh that I am getting nowhere to be no truth

no good

in anything big in society

refexed

white

villous below

so I just thought gure 47 learns or receives

asense impression

one does not recover any memory

(or none

has gone beore)

nor does one acquire it

or the rst time

let it remain in the basket

over night and you willplainly see that the gills are turning green



56



57



58

though the stimulus or seal were applied to running

water his

love o nature came out

o Black Mountain

yes

and the impulse

ollows a straight

course between

recollecting and

learning aresh lies

that in the ormer one will be able in some way to move

on by his own

eort to the term next ater thestarting-point good how are you that

the magnitude o a triangle is a nite quantity

yet we draw it as having a nite

magnitude urrowed and

sometimes split

pale-yellowish or becoming brownish tan soon decaying

the present yes

hencethis is

what’s driving it

object

appears as a

mere thought

but the other

being (as in the ormer

case) a

likenessis an aid to

memory



59



60



61



62



63



64



65



66



67



68



69



70

but when one recovers some previous knowledge or

sensation or experience the continuing state o which we

described beore as

memory then this process is recollection o one o theaoresaid objects



71



72



73



74



75

crispa (galera)

ingrata means unpleasant

which is an object o

conjecture or expectation (there might even be a science o

expectation as

some say

there is o divination)

belong

as it doesto many other animals

another way to do this would be to show up in the

archives limp

remember the absent

act which we do

not

perceive chapter ii



76



77



78



79



80



81



82



83



84



85



86



87



88

custom now takes the place o nature ast-orward to this

project went here or here

persists even when they have abandoned the attempt to

recollect

especially in the case o the melancholic (bruised) I

rst

ound this species in Whinnery’s woods

Salem

Ohio I’m Paul Soulellis object appears as a mere thought

but the other

being

(as in the ormer case) a likeness

is an aid to memory without being aware o it

perhaps

o all the intervals

I liked these

thirds least



89



90

owing to chance

so still more in matters o habit

to which the term natural does not

belong in the same sense white oryellowish

bow-shaped

decurrent

and

connected by vein-like olds

perceiving the aectionremember the absent act which we do not perceive i I let you

into the building

abundant threads over the surace



91



92



93



94



95



96



97



98



99



100



101

vermilion edged gills

point to start rom nor is there a volva well the rst thing that

comes to mind

comptulus means

beautied or luxuriously decked using only three tones“I elt limited” fgure 358 outline

o the

volva

the pileus

and the embryo stem



102



103



104



105

the

ormer in dark stem and uneven pileus

diers romthe latter in

being subviscid

with even stem

and pileus not

umbonate and much more irregular

and diers rom both in

subcostate gills



106



107

tuberculose

obsoletely zoned

pulverulent

or smooth

aculty

it would not belong

as it does

to many other animals



108



109



110



111



112



113

and that piperatus

as this species surrounded it really

really



114

experience that which customarily precedes the one which we

require that’s exactly right



115



116



117



118



119



120



FOUR



121

obvious that one must consider the

aection which is produced by sensation in the soul

and in that part o the body which contains the

soul—the aection

the lasting state o which we call memory—as a kind o

picture memories are not the

same as those who are good at recollecting

I have gotten

that

when we want to remember a name

we remember one

rather like it

but ail to enunciate the one we want ninth unit

o the ourth large

part o this talk no I’m going to



122



123



124



125



126



127



128



129



130



131



132



133



134

I liked these thirds least

and so



135



136



137



138



139



140



141



142



143



144



145



146



147



148



149



150

yeah or a mental picture use o the act that the

magnitude o a

triangle is a nite quantity

yet we draw it as having a nite magnitude

conscious

o time can be

said to remember

and

they do so with that part which is conscious o time

she revealed it

46 was ound in Haynes’ Hollow and

photographed

by Dr. Kellerman



151



152



153

so this is the collection basket when we recollect

then

we re-experience one o our ormer impulses

until at last we experience that which customarily

precedes the one which we require

and

gills slightly attached to

the stem mushrooms



154



155



156



157



158



159



160



161



162

chapter xiv rain in July

August

and September noises

too

had been

discriminated against cushion-ormed do this himsel but

only through another agency

he no longer remembers could not remember anything in its absence



163



164



165



166

the avorite host o this species is an apple tree small

pointed scales

which are usually larger and more numerous at the disk th unit o

the ourth large part o this talk is the same plant as

this these experiences are sometimes identical and sometimes

simultaneous with those o what we seek

and sometimes orm a part o them time as the original aectionspores

striate on the margin

sometimes having margin upturned

violet to rose

round

7–µ the one which we require the young specimen can be

recognized by the whole plant’s being o a vivid

lemon-yellow except the surace o the cap but Merce Cunningham

are you happy with it?



167

is

extremely brousand

the tricholoma

is

distinguished by its notched gills his love o nature came out o

Black Mountain

when men throw stones it

no longer lies in their power to stopthem

so the man who is employed in recollecting and search sets in

motion a bodily part in which

the

aection resides memory

then

implies lapse o time

that one did so and so the day

beore

yesterday

and sometimes with an exact

estimate dierence between recollecting and learning aresh lies

that

in the ormer one will be able in some way to move on by his own

eort to the next term ater the starting-point

what part o us itpertains that it pertains to the primary sense-aculty

i.e.

that with which we perceive time memory



168



169



170



171



172

or at any moment the telephone may ring or an

airplane come down in a vacant lot I would say be

cautious some men show when in spite o

great

concentration they cannot

remember

and which persists even when they abandon the

attempt to recollect

especially

in the

case o the melancholic

common



173



174



175



176



177



178

wherever you want

relating

to the act

takes place apart rom thatrelating to

the time

or vice versa

one

does not remember 118 velutipes (spathularia)

acute



179



180



181



182



183

yeah

yeah

yeah

but at any moment an idea may come along tinged with yellow

reason why we sometimes

recollect and sometimes do not

although starting

rom the same pointis that it is

possible to travel rom the same

starting-point to more than one destination



184



185



186



187



188

about the size

o a quail’s egg tricholoma equestre o the series are ar apartbut only when they are near together

great

great (present) aection

or the original rom which it arose to imagine g

he keeps be in mind

but instead o h:i

he thinks k:l eel lonely an installation

no no no I understand

shall we have one later?



189



190



191



192



193



194



195



196



197



198



199



200



201

o contemplation or a

mental picture

but in so ar as we consider it in

relation to something else

e.g.as a likeness

it is also an aid to

memory a distance by stretching out to them

as some think that vision operates (or the

mind

will think o them equally i they are not there)

but one thinks o them by a

proportionate mental impulse

need it



202



203



204



205



206



207



208

the colors

as it is it does not belong to all

because they have not all aconsciousness o time

generally speaking the slow-witted have

better memories

but the quick-witted and those

who learn

easily are better at recollecting



209



210



211

um

I don’t



212



213

this case although we make no use

o the

act that the magnitude

o a

triangle is a

nite quantity

yet we draw it as having a nite magnitude

belong

as it does

to many other animals recollection

occur when one impulse naturally

succeeds another now i the sequence is necessary

it is plain that whoever experiences one impulse will

also experience the next came

out o

great

great

polyporus leucomelas experienced ater that is relatively small re-

introduction o something which existed in us beore granted thatone possesses a aculty by which to distinguish great

and lesser time (intellectual) there was somebody who was

just

here

who was loading

which will continue



214



215



216



217

wherever you want (hygrophorus)



218



219

I must say I still eel this

waybut something is happening



220



221



222



223



224



225



226



227



228



229



230



231



232

pressed um I don’t

good how are you

the other thing

h to i

ok

goodplants

sent me rom Massachusetts which

seem to be

much smaller than our plants natural size

experiences in the present the stem is stued

with advancing

age hollowequal

foccose

white

ringed

base bulbous

volva closely embracing the stem with its

ree margin

ring orming a broad collar

refexed 6 ennicum(hebeloma) (moment)



233



FIVE



234

three inches long

stued

rm

equal

pale

apex

pruinose

veil very

ugacious power is that

just as when men throw stones it no longer lies intheir power to

stop them

so the man who is employed in

recollecting and search sets in motion a

bodily part in which

the aection resides thinking o a series

which may be

represented by the letters abcdegh

and more itis not irritating (and then more and more and slowly) we have

several



SIX



235



236



237



238



239



240



241



242



243



244

generally speaking

it is

when

other impulses

such as we have mentioned

have rst been aroused that the particular impulse ollows we

have severalthat anyone can

they have

abandoned

the attempt to recollect

especially in the case o the

melancholic easily

separating

margin involuteoten at rst tomentose

old

orms oten repand or wavy



245



246

this is driving it

grows among leaves in mixed woods during wet

weather in his book

“I the

collector gets

puzzled

as he willover one or all o these species

because no description

ts

he can whet his patience and his appetite by calling it H.

perplexum and graciously eating it” mushrooms and I’ll

come back

hopeully

I’m Paul Soulellis

simultaneous with those o what we seek

and sometimes orm a part o them



247



248

contemplation in itsel and as a mental picture o

something else personatum or

pleaurotus ostreatus

but many other varieties will answer well movements in the

mind

so you might see



249



250

experienced something o the sort beore

and the process is

a

kind o search

would shoot me

generous courtesy o his esteemed riends

manyimpulses

until at last he initiates one such that it will lead to

the object o his search memory and remembering

what it is

why it occurs and to what part o the soul this aection

and that o recollection belongs

rom that relating to the timeor vice versa

one does not remember without lie

is dead our lips

way in which men try to recollect

and the way in which they recollect

even i they do not try to

when one impulse ollows another

last year when I talked here I made a shorttalk



251



252

(consider) it in itsel

it is an object o

contemplation or a mental picture

but in so ar as we consider it in relation to something else

e.g.

as a

likenessit is also an aid to memory

yeah

smokey brown you know I can’t

let you into the building

none has gone beore

nor does one acquire it

or the rst

time

I’m just ne



253



254



255



256

time so I just had

I just had

(beautiul) plant point in the second point o view we are

just passing the halway point in the second large

part (bulbous)

rooting beyond the bulb

emarginate beings which are capable o opinion and

thought

but also in some other animals Kuhn’s

blog

it is ound in woods or clearings

on dead logs or on standing

dead trees projecting color



257

but

copia

plenty

(piece) may be tried andSeptember yes

T. sejunctum in the latter having pure white gills and a

more slender stem

they made the decision

ground in damp woods mycologist we

have several

(Dr. Kellerman)



258



259



260



261



262



263



264



265



266



267



268



269

stem equalor slightly tapering upward

solid

bulbous

whitish

the veil either membraneous or

webby

white

commonly adhering in

ragmentsto the margin o

the pileus we went back and orth

this happens when one regards as a likeness what

is not a likeness



270

hymenula punctiormis



271



272



273



273 RELICS FOR JOHN CAGE

PUBLISHED ON THE OCCASION OF

ReViewing Black Mountain College 3

John Cage’s Circle o Infuence

Asheville, North Carolina

October 7–9,

THANKS TO

The John Cage Trust

Laura Kuhn, Executive Director

TYPOGRAPHY

Galaxie Polaris

(Chester Jenkins, 00)

Starling(William Starling Burgess, 190)

PRINTED BY

Edition One Books

Berkeley, CA

PUBLISHED BY

Paul Soulellis, New York

Soulellis.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-9840052-0-8

Copyright © 2011 by Paul Soulellis

All Rights Reserved

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