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Essay on evolution of art
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John Cage Defined in the 1950s
John Cage is considered by many to be the defining voice of avant-garde music throughout the 20th century. Fusing philosophy with composition, he reinvented the face of modern music, leading composer Arnold Schoenberg to declare, "Of course he's not a composer, but he's an inventor -- of genius" (Kostelanetz 6). For Cage, the 1950s brought a series of critical events that both refined his message as a composer and brought him great fame, or infamy to some. His interest in Eastern Zen philosophy blossomed throughout the early part of the decade, a subject that is actively pursued and reinforced in all of his following musical works. The 1950s also brought the revelation for Cage that sound is inherently present in all of us when he entered an anechoic chamber at Harvard University. This manifested in his work as the famous "silent" piece 4'33". Cage's involvement at Black Mountain College during this period contributed remarkable development to his music and ideas that defined the rest of his works. The 1950s were the defining decade for the career of philosopher and composer, John Cage.
Cage was born into a Los Angeles middle class family in 1912. His father was a less than successful inventor -- dabbling in the areas of submarines, medicine, space travel, and electrical engineering -- who instilled in him the idea that "if someone says 'can't', that shows you what to do." (Cage, An Autobiographical Statement) Cage learned how to play the piano as a child and took a liking to Grieg, and even briefly considered becoming a concert pianist. However, when Cage went to college it was to become a writer. He was deeply disillusioned by the conformity he saw in the students:
I was shocked at college...
... middle of paper ...
... remainder of his life.
References
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Cage, John. For the Birds: John Cage in conversation with Daniel Charles. Salem, NH: Marion Boyars. 1976.
Cage, John. Silence: Lectures and Writings by John Cage. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press. 1961.
Kostelanetz, Richard. Conversing with Cage. New York, NY: Routledge. 2004 (1987 orig.).
Patterson, David Wayne. Appraising the Catchwords, c. 1942-1959: John Cage's Asian-Derived Rhetoric and the Historical Reference of Black Mountain College. PhD thesis, Columbia University. 1996
Pritchett, James. The Music of John Cage. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. 1993.
Solomon, Larry J. PhD. "The Sounds of Silence: John Cage and 4'33"". Pima College, 1998.
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Jones, James Earl, and Penelope Niven. James Earl Jones: Voices and Silences. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1993. Print.
Silence — the sound of quiet, the state of mind, the lack of meaning — all these pertain to its definition. Communication is expanding, noise is increasing, music is becoming more obtainable as people search desperately for a moment of peace or a breeze of silence. As the scarcity of physical silence increases, its value as a rare commodity increases as well. The idiom “Silence is golden” may perhaps only grow closer to reality as time passes, as exemplified by the white noise machines or silent fans entering the market and fictionalized in Kevin Brockmeier’s short story, “The Year of Silence.” In light of this, Brockmeier explores the value of silence and noise in his story without putting one above the other. Through strange clues and hidden
Arguably the most popular — and certainly the busiest — movie leading man in Hollywood history, John Wayne entered the film business while working as a laborer on the Fox Studios lot during summer vacations from university, which he attended on a football scholarship. He met and was befriended by John Ford, a young director who was beginning to make a name for himself in action films, comedies, and dramas. Wayne was cast in small roles in Ford's late-'20s films, occasionally under the name Duke Morrison. It was Ford who recommended Wayne to director Raoul Walsh for the male lead in the 1930 epic Western The Big Trail, it was a failure at the box office, but the movie showed Wayne's potential as a leading actor. During the next nine years, be busied himself in a multitude of B-Westerns and serials — most notably Shadow of the Eagle in between occasional bit parts in larger features such as Warner Bros.' Baby Face. But it was in action roles that Wayne excelled, exuding a warm and imposing manliness onscreen to which both men and women could respond.
Updike, John. "A & P." Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories. (New York : Knopf, 1962).
Tierce, Mike, and John Michael Crafton. "Connie's Tambourine Man: A New Reading Of Arnold Friend." Studies In Short Fiction 22.2 (1985): 219. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
Cather, Willa. “Paul’s Case.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter 6th ed. New York: Norton, 2000. 198-207.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. "The Hurt Locker." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Twelfth ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 942. Print.
Cooper, Bernard. “Labyrinthine.” Occasions for Writing . Ed. Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II. Boston: Thomson, 2007. 345- 47. Print.
John Milton Cage Jr. also known as John Cage was born in Los Angeles, California on September 5, 1912. Although he passed away on August 12, 1992 his legacy as an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist lives on. Not only was he a participant in a wide variety of music genres but he became the father of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments. Cage also became very active in a lot of contemporary and unique artistry and many of his influences can be found in the works of musicians globally. Every great artist has someone or something they can look to as a basis and guideline to start off their own work. In John’s case, he used South/ East Asian cultural components, largely implementing
The Duke takes his place in history. John Wayne, one of America’s greatest actors and directors of all time. His fame and superstardom led to many problems in his career. His image as an icon of American individualism and the frontier spirit has overshadowed his career to such an extent that it is almost impossible for the fans and writers to separate Wayne the legend from Wayne the actor and Wayne the man.
The idea of silence explains that there is nothing to hear, nothing to create vibrations for a person’s ear drums to feel. ‘Silence’ only occurs in space where there remains no medium for the vibrations to travel through. However, here on Earth, air and water remain the mediums, therefore, I can concur with Cage in that there exists “no such thing as silence”. Comparing this philosophy with the definition of what music should be, then “Mr. Cage’s work fails totally” (Rockwell). Several of Cage’s works were just long periods of silence. If you played a John Cage CD, you might as well have put it in the machine and not even pressed play (Rockwell). Music is supposed to entertain people with its lovely melodies and colorful moods. However, John Cage’s music did not entertain people, it allowed people to entertain themselves. Listening closely to what surrounded them, people need to work for their entertainment, not mindlessly listen to music somebody has already composed. In a way, Cage created an entire new perspective on the way music is seen and
Smith, Gene. "Lost Bird." American Heritage 47.2 (1996): 38. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
"A Separate Peace." Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Vol. 3. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp., 1993.
Tierce, Mike, and John Michael Crafton. "Connie's Tambourine Man: A New Reading Of Arnold Friend." Studies In Short Fiction 22.2 (1985): 219. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
...11). Sound Upon Sound: The Conversation. [Online] Available from Sound on Sight: http://www.soundonsight.org/sound-upon-sound-the-conversation/ [Accessed 05 February 2012]