In the article “Searching for Silence” by Alex Ross, the narrative of John Cage’s life as a conceptual musical artist is laid out perfectly for the reader. As someone who is extremely into conceptual art and Dadaism (as well as Neo-dadaism) I was so fascinated to learn about Cage’s process and meanings behind some of his most famous pieces. First off, reading about his piece “4:33” actually helped me understand its meaning and find beauty within silence. While titled as a musical piece, I find this to have many aspects of performance art, where the artist and the audience become part of a whole. Having his audience listen to random sounds found within the hall or outside in nature, opposed to an actual instrument, forces them to question the infinite possibilities of music and its meaning within society. I genuinely love the quote by Cage that Ross includes in his article where he states, “One of the greatest blessings that the United States could receive in the near future would be to have her industries halted, her business discontinued, her people speechless, a great pause in her world of affairs created. . . . We should be hushed and silent, and we should have the opportunity to learn what other people think.” Cage single-handedly created a space for experimentation with sounds through conceptual notions he was very confident about. As a young artist who works primarily in sculptural techniques, Cage has further inspired me to really grasps onto conceptual art without fear of rejection.
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