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HONEST_JOHN

                                      April 13, 2003

An interview with Heinlein conducted
by J. Neil Schulman in the 1970s...           HEINLEIN

Heinlein goes into the
standard Modern Art diatribe:

   "This is a period when a great many
   of the so-called fine artists are
   apparently painting with old brooms,
   and would be horrified at the idea
   that picture actually had to *look*
   like something?  Or say anything to          BRIGHT_SILENCE
   the viewer? I'm an old square on
   that; I want to be able to
   understand a picture that I look at."

Schulman mentions his father has color
slides of white, blank paintings, that
his father regards as a "big joke".         These are Robert
                                            Rauschenberg's
Heinlein responds:                          white paintings.

   "Yes, I think so, too.  Like that                    (Rauschenberg
   pianist here some years back at                      and Cage knew
   one of these far out things who                      each other,
   gave a concert that consisted of                     and influenced
   going to the piano and sitting                       each other.)
   there holding perfectly still for       This is
   twelve minutes.  Never touched the      John Cage's
   keys.                                   4'33".

   "That's carrying a joke a bit far;         4'33" is often called the
   however, if they can get away with         "silent piece".  Really,
   it, it's all right with me, I              it's "devoid of
   simply won't subscribe to it."             intentional sound".

               A_BIT_FAR

Now myself, I don't object to
calling this stuff a "joke"
(laughing at it is hardly an         If you "get" the concept,
inappropriate reaction).             you laugh *with* the artist.

But the suggestion that they're
getting away with something... ?


There's this persistant feeling among
the culturally conservative that Cage
was some sort of con artist, but that's
actually a very odd thing to say: he was
a "con artist" who repeatedly explained
the "con" at great length; a con artist
without deception.

   "The Emperor has no clothes!"

   "Sshh. Yes, everyone knows that dear.
   They're conceptual clothes.
   Try to use your imagination."

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