George Brecht’s notes read:
For the composer and performer, Art is behaving—
for the listener, Art is experiencing—
in a special way, surely,
but the way (once arrive at) is not-special (wu-shih).The performer behaves in a situation partly determined by the composer, partly by himself, partly by ambient conditions. There is an elegant consistency to the viewpoint which allows each of these elements to manifest its own nature, without imbalance, without imposition. Ambient sound penetrates the intended, is “included” in the music. It is relevant to the situation in which the music arises/relevant to the music, which is ever situational.
Brecht’s evocation of the Zen Buddhist term wu-shih signals an approach to experience and behavior that is ordinary, unaffected, natural, and therefore “not-special.” Brecht may have become familiar with the term via Alan Watts’s book, The Way of Zen (1957).
© 2022 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.
