The Art of John Cage

What is music? Apparently any sort of sound around our environment, whether it is structurally organized into rhythms or not, is music. An important composer and musical thinker, John Cage reshaped aesthetic thought about what music was. John Cage enjoyed experience of sound in the environment. Increasing one's enjoyment in life, keeping an open mind to appreciate all art, adoring it rather than just expressing it, were important beliefs. It is inspiring that he tweeked the sensibility of others, and believed that art wasn't just about creativity. He is not only a sound artist, but also a visual artist who loved painting and drawing. While experimenting with sound, he is accredited for pioneering the "prepared piano" by putting nuts, bolts, screws, and other random things inside of a piano which created a variety of sounds. One such work he wrote, In the Name of the Holocaust was an intense piece with nails tacked between the strings. Another work he created was 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds or 4.33 which consisted of conceptual and environmental work he made in New York. Basically the audience was a part of his orchestra because they created noises which "...are as useful to new music as different tones, for the simple reason that they are songs." His appreciation for all sounds as music and unique way of thinking is intriguing. He felt no harmony was necessary to create music. Music was his passionate devotion in life.

The strange and indifferent music he created did not seem to interest me and I thought it was really weird. His music was like a whole new language, especially his notation. However, I was rather drawn by his philosophy in music and the eccentricity of his work where he freed himself from biases by taking chances. John Cage wasn't afraid to take different and free risks in his music. From his experimentations depicted in the video, he opened up my own mind and realized how humanity has limited perceptions on music. It is hard to free myself from my likes and dislikes, and be openly free like John Cage. I applaud his unique musical thinking. I think the definition of music differs for various people, depending on the type of structured or unstructured "noise" they prefer. In my opinion however, some of his un-harmonious, strange noises, are not very aesthetically pleasing music to my ears.