4’33”
1952
Performance Art
Performance art, with musician, instrument, and audience
Cage created 4’33” whilst at Black Mountain. However, the work does not depend on a number of performers bringing it to fruition, instead, it is dependent on chance and the environment in which it is performed. The composition of three movements does not contain a single musical note. Cage wrote detailed instructions for a single musician to enter the stage and prepare their instrument before sitting in absolute silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, the duration of the piece. The silence allows the surrounding sounds and their audience to become the music
John Cage
Neo-Dada, Fluxus, Conceptual Art
Born: 5 September 1912, California, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 12 August 1992, New York, USA
Cage was a composer and music theorist best known as a pioneer in music, electroacoustics, and the non-standard use of musical instruments. He was a leading figure of the post-war avant-garde and he is considered by critics to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th century
Jezzie G 