John Cage Mycological Foray

September 25 & 26

All Events Are Free

Produced in collaboration with Montgomery Place and Bard Stevenson Library

SCHEDULE

Friday, September 25

1–3pm: Workshop — lichen life, with zan tomko

Lichens are everywhere! This workshop (limited to 20 people) will teach what lichens are, how fungi and algae work together, and why they matter to the ecosystem. Practice recognizing the different forms of lichens, examining various lichens with a handheld lens to see their intricate structures, and learn about lichen reproduction. Participants will practice photographing lichens and use the iNaturalist app to record observations.

Montgomery Place Visitor Center (click for map)

More info and Register

3:30pm: talk — Relationships with Fungi... It can seem complicated, with Luke Sarrantonio

Fungi are amazing ecological facilitators! They form some of the most interesting relationships and partner with a wide variety of organisms. These associations can be mutualistic, or one organism may benefit while the other seems unaffected, but some relationships are downright parasitic (which is not always negative)! Join us for an exploration into the funky and fascinating world of Fungal Relationships and build on your Ecological Literacy!

John Cage Trust (click for map), 1309 Annandale Road, Red Hook, NY 12571

Note: This talk will be broadcast live on WGXC 90.7-FM — Radio for Open Ears.

6pm: Movie — Attack of the Mushroom People

The survivors of a shipwreck are stranded on an island filled with strange mushrooms. As order breaks down and food becomes scarce, some start to eat the mushrooms, initiating a transformation into zombie-like fungus creatures. The film features one of cinema's greatest—and appropriately psychedelic—dream ballets. Not to be missed!

Weis Cinema, Bard College Bertlesman Campus Center (click for map), Annandale Road, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504

Saturday, September 26

THroughout the day:

  • Special exhibition at Bard Stevenson Library (1st Floor; click for map), on display now and through October 5th

A Mychological Conversation: John Cage and Violetta White Delafield

John Cage mushroom-related manuscripts, books, and objects (including his mushroom gathering basket!) from the John Cage Trust archives displayed along with a selection of exquisite mushroom drawings by Violetta White Delafield from the Montgomery Place Collection.

  • John Cage “Photo Booth” for selfies (by the Montgomery Place mansion)

  • Place ourself among the hanging mushroom and John Cage images for a perfect memento

  • John Cage Silence Walk (West Lawn Trail)

  • Stroll though this self-guided walk of contemplation featuring quotes about sound, silence, and listening by John Cage

8:30am–10:45: Fungi Ecology Walk with LUke Sarrantonio

Join us at Tivoli Bays for an exploration into the unique ecology of our region. With a focus on Fungi, we'll pull back the curtain and take a closer look at the fascinating organisms we discover and the intricate relationships that shape the ecosystems we live in. Following the walk, we’ll head to Montgomery Place for identification, as well as an opportunity to enter mushrooms into an exciting mushroom DNA project. See what we’re finding in the forest and learn from local Mid Hudson Mycology Association members about mushroom identification and how you can contribute your finds to their DNA sequencing project.

Tivoli Bays (click for map; meet at parking lot), Rt. 9G, Tivoli, NY 12583. With mushroom identification and DNA testing after at Montgomery Place

and walk to the mansion

Bring a lunch to enjoy outside!

[Note: The Mycological Foray will take place rain or shine. All events are outdoors. If there is very heavy rain on the 26th, we will gather in the Visitor’s Center.]

11:30am–12:30pm: Mushroom Identification & DNA Testing

Identify mushrooms gathered at Tivoli Bays and have the opportunity to find out about your mushroom’s DNA and register into a giant mushroom data-gathering project!

12:30–1:30: Odiferous Mushroom Walk with Ethan Crensen

New York Mycological Society president Ethan Crensen will lead a walk exploring the wonders of mushroom smells on this unique mushroom sniffing walk through the paths of Montgomery Place.

Meet in back of the mansion, by the steps.

or

Silent Meditation Walk WITH Tatjana Myoko von Prittwitz und Gaffron

Bard’s very own Buddhist Chaplain, Tatjana Myoko von Prittwits und Gaffron, will lead a silent meditation walk on the South Woods Trail.

Meet at the Visitor Center

1:45pm–4pm at the montgomery place mansion

Note: The following programs will be broadcast live on WGXC 90.7-FM — Radio for Open Ears:

  • 1:45pm: Welcome by Jeffrey Lependorf followed by a talk by George Quasha

Following an introduction by the John Cage Trust’s Executive Director, Jeffrey Lependorf, poet and publisher George Quasha will give a talk: “Language, Mushrooms & Cage: a mycopoetic view”

2:30pm: A talk by Luke Sarrantonio—Fungal First-Aid!

From medicine for daily health and longevity to "oh shiitake! I just cut my finger in the forest!" Fungi produce powerful healing and functional compounds. Explore their history of use and how we can work with them in our everyday lives and emergency situations.

  • 3:00pm: Performance by Michael Jones of John Cage’s “Child of Tree” simultaneous with a reading by Jeffrey Lependorf from Cage’s performance text, “Mureau”

John Cage Trust’s executive director, Jeffrey Lependorf, will perform portions of John Cage’s performance text “Mureau” while percussionist and Bard Percussion Teaching Fellow Michael Jones performs Cage’s “Child of Tree,” in which amplified dried plant materials serve as the instruments.

  • 3:30pm: Deep Imagination Mushroom Circle with Gabriela D’Elia 

Our day concludes with an opportunity to come together in a circle of deep imagination and contemplation.

BIOS & Other INFO

Ethan Crensen is president of the New York Mycological Society.

Gabriela D’Elia is a fungal advocate, educator, writer, Board Member for Fungal Diversity Survey, and Conservation Director for Catskill Fungi. 

Michael Jones is a percussionist, scholar, and conductor based in the Hudson Valley, NY. They regularly perform as a member of the contemporary music projects Offscreen (with Sasha Ishov) and Duo Refracta (with Shaoai Ashley Zhang). His publications can be read in Twentieth-Century Music, Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture, and Percussive Notes. They currently teach at Bard College.

Jeffrey Lependorf is executive director of the John Cage Trust.

Poet/artist George Quasha’sninth book of “preverbs” is Hearing Other (Chax Press). A Guggenheim and NEA Fellow, recipient of the T-Space poetry award, he collaborates on workwith artist Susan Quasha—their new book is Flying Spirit Pencil (Open Space). They are co-publishers of Station Hill Press in Barrytown, NY.

Roseann Tomko, a retired graphic design instructor, communicates with nature through her work as a Minnesota master Natural Volunteer Instructor, using poetry, art, science and photography to report on the natural world. She also writes a nature blog for the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and is co-founder of the Minnesota Master Naturalist’s Lichen Map Project on iNaturalist.

Tatjana Myoko von Prittwitz und Gaffron has been at Bard College since 1999, first building up an archive on the history of exhibition since 1970 at the Center for Curatorial Studies, and then teaching undergraduates, now focussing on interdisciplinary classes that combine the arts with spirituality. She is an ordained Soto Zen priest and serves as the Buddhist Chaplain (see Bard chaplaincy website for further information). She has also curated exhibitions of contemporary art and published essays with research focusing on the concept of social sculpture by Joseph Beuys.

Luke Sarrantonio has had a dynamic career in Mycology (15+ years), developing ecology and cultivation-based educational programs, organizing an annual mushroom and arts festival (For the Love of Fungi), community projects, and a line of functional mushroom products (under the name Mycophilic). His most recent projects include an outdoor mushroom farm and teaching space with his partner Kaya, at their farm in Accord, NY (Eat Flowers Farm), and a community project called Eat More Mushrooms. He also offers mentorships and private classes.

The Mid-Hudson Mycological Association is a regional, member-supported nonprofit organization devoted to the study, appreciation, and responsible enjoyment of fungi in the Hudson Valley of New York State. Through education, ethical practice, and shared learning, we connect people to fungi and the landscapes they inhabit.

Montgomery Place, situated along the Hudson River between Bard’s Annandale and Massena campuses, is a 380+ acre historic site that includes a federal-style mansion, several houses, cottages, and barns, historic gardens, rustic walking trails, an old-growth forest, and a renowned orchard and farm stand. From 1805 to 1986, Montgomery Place was home to seven generations of the Livingston family and the workforce that supported them, all of whom left their marks on the estate in the activities they pursued, the work they undertook, and the physical objects they left behind.

The New York Mycological Society was founded in 1962 by John Cage, Guy Nearing, and a small group of other mushroom lovers and students. NYMS is now the largest mycology club in the Northeast. NYMS conducts weekly year-round mushroom walks in the city and beyond, ID meetings, lectures, workshops and mushroom festivals.  The Society focuses on education and citizen science and has been conducting a census of New York City fungi for over 10 years.

The John Cage Trust furthers the legacy of late American composer John Cage by gathering together, organizing, preserving, and disseminating his work. The John Cage Trust ensures that Cage’s voice remains vibrant, and toward that provides access to our archives, gives information about his life, guides how his works might best be performed or exhibited, and presents, organizes, and collaborates on programs, performances, exhibitions, and scholarship.