Post-Cagean Aesthetics and the "Event" Score Author(s): Liz Kotz Reviewed work(s): Source: October, Vol. 95 (Winter, 2001), pp. 54-89 Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/779200 . Accessed: 10/05/2012 03:14 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. The MIT Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to October. http://www.jstor.org Post-Cagean Aesthetics and the "Event"Score* LIZ KOTZ Around 1960, in New York City, a new type of work began to appear that con- sisted of short, instruction-like texts proposing one or more actions. Frequently referred to under the rubric of "event" scores or "word pieces," they represent one response to the work ofJohn Cage: Composition 1960 #10 To Bob Morris Draw a straight line and follow it. October 1960 -La Monte Young WORD EVENT * Exit Spring, 1961 -George Brecht * This essay is drawn from a chapter on the work of George Brecht, La Monte Young and Yoko Ono, in my dissertation, "Language Models in 1960s American Art: From Cage to Warhol."An earlier version was presented in November 1999, at the Reclame lecture series, "Otherwise Photography/Intermedia Otherwise: Prototypes and Practices of the 1960s," organized by Judith Rodenbeck; my thanks to Lutz Bacher, Benjamin Buchloh, Craig Dworkin and Melissa Ragona for their readings and comments.