A SWEETER MUSIC

KYLE GANN - "WAR IS JUST A RACKET"

of SANBORN John

Collaboration with Sarah Cahill

UNITED STATES, 2009, 00:09:26

Genre : Video art
Keyword : Music

Summary :

In 2009, Sarah Cahill commissioned 18 composers to write on the subject of peace, and she received a diverse collection of reflections on violence, loss, history, pain and enlightenment; all meditations on the meaning of "peace". The composers include Kyle Gann, The Residents, Meredith Monk, Terry Riley, Phil Kline, Yoko Ono, Fredric Rzewski and Jerome Kitzke.

She then invited video artist John Sanborn to create video experiences, inspired by each composition, as a performance environment to extend the character and tone of each work. The evening length live event premiered at CAL Performances in Berkeley, in 2009, and has toured the world.

When I first heard Kyle Gann's "War is Just a Racket" I did not respond to the spoken words or what seemed like a simplistic rant against capitalism. Boy, was I off-base. The text is from a Congressional deposition given by General Smedley Butler, twice honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the first leader of the Marine Expeditionary Force. His perspective is not only unique -- he was there -- it is the kind of statement that is irrefutable. Only a true American hero can pull off the curtain of motivation and declare that "war is just a racket".

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