John Cage’s artistic philosophy, as discussed in Alex Ross’s article "Searching for Silence: John Cage’s Art of Noise," challenges conventional understandings of music and sound. Cage’s work, specifically his famous piece 4'33", forces listeners to confront the concept of silence. Emphasizing silence not as the absence of sound, but as the presence of unintentional noise. In 4'33", the performers are instructed not to play their instruments, leaving the audience to hear the ambient noises in the room. This provokes the question: what constitutes music? Similar to the idea of what makes art, art? Cage’s answer suggests that music is all around us, even in what we typically consider as silence. Alex Ross highlights how Cage was deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism, which encourages an embracement of the present moment. Cage saw all sounds as equal, rejecting the conception that music had to be organized in a particular way to be meaningful. His interest in randomness and the unpredictable nature of sound, represents the departure from traditional Western music. For Cage, noise, randomness, and the unexpected were not imperfections to be avoided but instead, essential elements of the auditory experience. Alex Ross captures this shift in thought, by describing Cage’s artistic journey as one that has transformed noise into music.
This article prompts me to reconsider the boundaries of creativity and expression; as well as the definition of art (and music). Cage’s perseverance in breaking from tradition and redefining music in such a bold way, reminds us that innovation often comes from questioning fundamental assumptions. In a world saturated with noise, Cage’s philosophy invites us to listen more attentively and find beauty in the everyday sounds we might often overlook. My visual for this reading is an image, not a video; Meaning this image does not come with sound. However, most people upon looking at this image can hear a sound associated with it, even though the image only produces silence.
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