Help me identify these self-mutilating composers

Cafe Society
1

My music theory teacher was telling the class today about unusual composers. He touched on John Cage’s 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence among other strange happenings.

Then he talked about a composer who cut off his own finger and called it music. Then he went on to talk about a man that ordered someone to shoot him and called the resulting arterial spray music.

Music Theory Teacher was wracking his brain to remember the names and dates, but he was unsuccessful. Was he joking; have I been whooshed in class? Can anyone identify these two men?

2

The only person I recall who had someone shoot him in (in the arm) was the performance artist Chris Burden. Don’t think any music or musical allusions were involved.

3

That was in 1971.

4

[hijack]Your thread title made me think of the Monty Python tune “The Decomposing Composers”[/hijack]

Sorry, but the only thing I could find was on various performance “artists” like
Ron Athey.

5

Wonder if this was what your teacher was talking about?