Make art like John Cage

John Cage is an American composer famous for his piece 4' 33'', which is 4 mins and 33 seconds of silence.

4' 33" divided into three movements of 30 seconds, 2 minutes 23 seconds, and the final 1 minute and 40 seconds. All silent.

It's really quite hard to listen and watch a full orchestra performance of 4' 33" without finding it rather fascinating. Like when the musicians turn the pages at the right moments.

Published 12 Nov 2013

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Ma sketch: a kayaker glides through a calm lake with a shoreline reflection on a moody grey day

Ma is the negative space — the space that makes the whole. Formed by the rather beautiful Chinese characters of 'Door' and 'Sun', like the sun gleaming through a doorway, it represents what isn't there and how that helps form what is. Ma is present in art, including beautiful minimalistic ink brush drawings and music where the silence and quiet that surround the notes help make a piece what it is. Some vintage-related sketches: figure and ground, use white space with care, John Cage Original ma sketch (without kayaker)…Ma is the negative space — the space that makes the whole. Formed by the rather beautiful Chinese characters of 'Door' and 'Sun', like the sun gleaming through a doorway, it represents what isn't there and how that helps form what is. Ma is present in art, including beautiful minimalistic ink brush drawings and music where the silence and quiet that surround the notes help make a piece what it is. Some vintage-related sketches: figure and ground, use white space with care, John Cage Original ma sketch (without kayaker)

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