John Cages rules for Students and Teachers that aren’t that.
|
|
Recently, the art world was mildly irritated by finding out that one of the most iconic and influential pieces of modern art was incorrectly attributed. Fountain, which changed the art world forever, was not created by Duchamp, as he claimed, but by Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven.
Who happend to be a woman.
Then I’ve read the famous 10 Rules for Students and Teachers by John Cage. Except, they where not written by Cage, but by Sister Corita Kent, who was also, what a co-incidence, a woman.
While the latter might be a simple case of regrettable plagiarism, the first has such an enormous impact on the history of modern art, that its effects cannot really be overstated.
All of this made me think of a movie I recently watched: Hidden Figures is about the human “computers” that made NASAs space program possible. And not just because they were able to type fast, but because they had a very unique skillset and were brilliant and gifted people. All of them.
And all of them were women. Maybe that’s why you never heard of them.
And it doesn’t stop here. Joshua Lederberg got a Nobel price for his wives research, Rosalind Franklin created X-ray images of DNA molecules years before Watson, Crick and Wilkins received their Nobel price for describing the structure of DNA molecules.
Lisa Meitner discovered nuclear fission (what happens when atoms split), but her ‘colleague’ Otto Hahn published her work under his name and is still credited for this groundbreaking work.
And the list of men taking credit for women's work goes on and on and on.
What makes me think: How much of human history (which is a history of men) will we one day have to rewrite?
And when you look at Sister Kents Rule 7, isn’t that quite a bit ironic, messieurs Cage and Duchamp?
|
|
Spaceships made out of everyday objects
|
|
|
Eric Geusz makes spaceships out of everyday objects.
I love the idea, and his style, which reminds me of the drawing style of Jean Giraud.
|
|
If you're a musical idiot and a kid of the 90ies ...
|
|
|
If you’re a musical idiot and a kid of the 90ies, just like me, check out this channel:
Rick Beatos What Makes This Song Great
(but probably don't start with Episode 1, it’s Blink 182 …)
Especially, check out these episodes:
Alanis Morissette, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Tool.
aaaaand:
Soundgarden Spoon Man!
I love music, but have neither a formal musical education, nor any musical talent whatsoever. I understand so little about creating music that I’m glad people like Rick exist so I can appreciate the nuances of how these songs were made. Even if I don’t understand everything he’s talking about, I understand how much there is to talk about.
And what I especially like is that he takes some time to talk about the drums - drummers are the unsung heroes of the grunge era!
Going back to this time gives me the warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia. My daughter will hate me when i’ll play what she will call “oldies” on the car radio.
(Hey! Show some respect young lady!)
It also reminds me of Gonzales’ Pop Music Masterclass, which features some more recent hits if the 90ies are not your cup of tea.
|
|
|
A fascinating story about Japanese characters that are part of the official encoding standard (think of this as an alphabet specifically for computer usage), but nobody knows what they mean, how they are pronounced, or how they got there in the first place.
These ghost characters have puzzled researchers and geeks alike for decades.
Over the years, the origins of most ghost characters could be determined (obscure places in remote prefectures, copy/paste errors, and other mishaps), but one character remains a mystery.
|
|
Thank you for reading this edition of Let’s Be Fwends.
Here’s to all the people standing in the shadows of the flashy showmen and -women, the makers building things while the salespeople sell things (and mostly themselves). So, high-fives to you, we appreciate what you’re doing. I’m rooting for you! 👊🏽
|
|
|
|
|
