In February 1959, while on a visit to fellow composer Luciano Berio in Milan, John Cage appeared five times on a popular Italian television quiz show called Lascia o Raddoppia? “He hasn’t just been an odd character performing strange music on the stage…”Artwork by Lois Long, for John Cage’s Mushroom Book 1972. Photograph: Copyright John Cage TrustCage’s brief brush with mainstream celebrity is recounted in John Cage: A Mycological Foray, an elegant art book that delves deep into the composer’s lifelong fascination with mushrooms. Photograph: Courtesy of the John Cage Mycology Collection, UCSC Special Collections and ArchivesThis mushroom-related brush with mortality did little to dent Cage’s enthusiasm for all things mycological. John Cage foraging at Stony Point, 1965.

Source: The Guardian August 19, 2020 14:24 UTC