A Tribute to John Cage (1976)

A Tribute to John Cage is Paiks homage to avantgarde composer John Cage A major figure in contemporary art and music Cage was one of the primary influences on Paiks work as well as his friend and frequent collaborator In this multifaceted portrait Paik creates a pastiche of Cages performances and anecdotes interviews with friends and colleagues and examples of Paiks participatory music and television works that parallel Cages strategies and concerns The methodology and philosophies that inform Cages radical musical aesthetic chance randomness the democratization of sounds are evident as he performs such seminal pieces as 433 of complete silence in Harvard Square or throws the I Ching to determine performance sites Among the collage of elements included in this work are segments from Paiks Zen for TV Paik and Charlotte Moorman in early performances including the TV Bra and anecdotes from composer Alvin Lucier