The most interesting factor of this article that I found was the enjoyment and admiration John Cage had for silence. Thinking of talented musicians- you'd quickly jump to the conclusion that they loved sounds and their specific taste in genre of sounds- but here is John Cage, creating a whole new insight on music and the art in and behind creating it. Other artists have expressed that he was the first composer in the history of music who raised the question by implication that maybe sound could be an art form rather than a music form. It seems as though he was born into his role of being so radical- always questioning the obvious, creating new ideas, and thinking differently. There is nothing that is not music. By thinking this and acting on the idea, Cage opened a pathway to minimalism and sound art that had not previously been experimented with in the art world as well as the music world.
What Cage was doing was taking the basic forms of life and senses and turning them into art- into something more than we had previously thought it would be. How he explained it was that he was making poverty elegant by the way he chose to live and think about the world. It came as no surprise to me that he took up a large interest in the world of mushrooms because they are such a natural and spiritual plant that is worshiped for a range of purposes, which I would believe Cage would find passion in after learning so much about his mindset. I find beauty in Cage's development as he grew darker and more apocalyptic over the years creating art that stirred reaction and thought.
enlightenment
popularity
movement
simplicity
sound
noise
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