https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcHnL7aS64Y
This is an interesting video in which John Cage talks about silence and sound. I've written down some quotes from it that stood out to me.
"When I hear music, it seems to me like someone is talking. Talking about his feelings or about his ideas of relationships. But when I hear the sound of traffic, I don't have the feeling that anyone is talking. I have the feeling that sound is acting.
The Activity of Sound
"I love sounds just as they are and I have no need for them to be anything more than what they are."
He also quoted the philosopher Emmanuel Kant - "There are two things that don't have to mean anything, one is music and the other is laughter."
Cage goes on to say how much he enjoys silence, and how with silence, what you hear is always different. For example, if you are listening to a piece of music like Mozart or Beethoven, it will always sound the same. However, when you are silent and listen to the noises around you, they will always be different.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saGo9DsDB80
This is another video I began to watch but I didn't find it as relevant so I only got 2/5 of the way through. I did however write down a couple of quotes from people Cage is inspired by that have helped me understand him and his work better.
He quoted Oscar Fishinger when he said "Everything in the world has a spirit and that spirit is released by that thing being set into vibration." This is echoed in Cage's work from his focus on sound itself and unconventional ways of making music, such as using shells filled with water, and the use of the prepared piano.
He also quoted Duchamp - "the work of art is not completed by the artist but is completed by the listener, or the observer." This is also reflected in Cage's work in his approach to composition. When composing, instead of writing a score of music he might write text instructions or use a chart, so the piece of music is different each time and is unique for the listener.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXOIkT1-QWY
In this video he performs "water walk" in which he uses a lot of different objects to create sounds at specific intervals (which he times using a stopwatch throughout the recording). This video actually creates a lot of imagery that could be used in designs for this project such as the objects and the interesting approach to playing the piano so I might refer back to this if I chose to use John Cage as my person of note.
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