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HONEST_JOHN

                                      April 13, 2003

An interview with Heinlein conducted
by J. Neil Schulman in the 1970s...
                                                                 
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          These are                
slides of white, blank paintings, that          Robert              
his father regards as a "big joke".             Rauschenberg's  
                                                white paintings.
                                                        
                                                   (Rauschenberg and          
Heinlein responds:                                 Cage knew each other, 
                                                   and influenced each other.) 
   "Yes, I think so, too.  Like that 
   pianist here some years back at           This is 
   one of these far out things who           John Cage's    4'33" is often 
   gave a concert that consisted of          4'33".         called the 
   going to the piano and sitting                           "silent piece". 
   there holding perfectly still for                        Really, it's   
   twelve minutes.  Never touched the                       "devoid of      
   keys."                                                   intentional     
                                                            sound".        
   "That's carrying a joke a bit far;                                          
   however, if they can get away with                                      
   it, it's all right with me, I         A_BIT_FAR        
   simply won't subscribe to it."                   
                                 

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 and use your imagination."

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