By Katelynn Cole

What do you think of when you hear the words “virtual cage?” Maybe a bird cage on the Internet? Or a hologram jail cell? Well for art students and art lovers all over the world, “Vir2ual Cage” now represents a revolutionary one-of-a-kind art project that has just begun to make some serious headway.
 
For the first time ever, art schools from around the world are collaborating to bring about live online performances and to put together a rendition of an artist collection of musical and theatrical pieces.

Named after John Cage, famous American composer, Vir2ual Cage was first developed to become “the first on-line repository of recordings from John Cage’s Song Books,” says Michélle Lach, associate professor at the Columbus College of Art and Design. “As a result of the collaborative efforts between faculty from CaLARTS, CCAD, University of York and The Orpheus Instituut, it became clear that a performance art piece featuring the experimental compositions would be a perfect way to explore and begin recording the Song Books.”

And so the worldwide collaboration began as the second element of Vir2ual Cage. On Sept. 17 CCAD will host a performance that will stream live to and from The Orpheus Instituut in Belgium. The day will begin with a 90-minute rendition at noon. Then, at 6 p.m., a four-hour live performance will begin. Audience members and even performers are invited to come and go during the show.

Though there is an actual performance on Sept. 17, Vir2ual Cage is an ongoing project. Song Books is an example of this continuous mission.

According to the Web site at www.vir2ualcage.org, “Artists from around the world — musicians, actors, dancers, animators, video artists and others — will be invited to add performances to the database, continually expanding it over many years and building upon the implications of Cage’s work. En route to the eventual Internet-based format, other presentations will continue to include live performances and installations in the U.S. and abroad.”

Song Books reflects John Cage’s style in that some of the pieces include no vocals and instead are recordings of interesting sounds, including a forest fire and a sentence being typed on a typewriter 38 times.

“This will be the first time ever that the Song Books have been streamed live on the Internet. I’m exhilarated by the opportunity to have my students working with internationally renowned vocalists and performers alongside local artists and academics,” says Lach. “As an artist, educator and curator, I’m passionate about developing events where people of all ages can literally participate in the performance of art. This first exhibition of Vir2ual Cage is designed to offer the audience a chance to join the show.”

The next scheduled performance is a triennial event in 2012 that will take place on the 100th anniversary of Cage’s birth.

For more information on the Vir2ual Cage, visit www.vir2ualcage.org.