John Cage Quotes

American avant-garde composer (1912-1992)

John Cage (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and non-standard use of musical instruments. Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avantgarde and, in the opinion of many, the most influential American composer of the 20th century.

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Pen Names: Cage, Jr., John Milton

Alternative Names: John Milton Cage Jr. • John Milton Cage, Jr. • John Milton, Jr. Cage • J. C.

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Each day his eyes and ears were open and empty to see and hear the world he lived in.
Music, he said, is continuous; only listening is intermittent.

John Cage, 1979, reflecting on Henry David Thoreau’s solo sojourn in Walden Woods, 1845-47.

Art is sort of an experimental station in which one tries out living

Syntax, like government, can only be obeyed. It is
therefore of no use except when you
have something particular to command
such as: Go buy me a bunch of carrots.

Sleep's what we need. It produces an emptiness in us into which sooner or later energies flow.

Remove God from the world of ideas. Remove government, politics from society. Keep sex, humor, utilities. Let private property go.

My whole desire is to run up and down the sea coast looking for you.

As far as consistency of thought goes, I prefer inconsistency.

In the dark, all cats are black.

"It is better to make a piece of music than to perform one, better to perform one than to listen to one, better to listen to one than to misuse it as a means of distraction, entertainment, or acquisition of "culture.

I remember loving sound before I ever took a music lesson. And so we make our lives by what we love.

The world is teeming; anything can happen.

They say, 'you mean it's just sounds?' thinking that for something to just be a sound is to be useless, whereas I love sounds just as they are, and I have no need for them to be anything more than what they are. I don't want them to be psychological. I don't want a sound to pretend that it's a bucket or that it's president or that it's in love with another sound. I just want it to be a sound.

Power and profit structures're out of cahoots with current technology. Aware of new inventions, corporations put them aside, waiting for competitive reasons until they're obliged to use new gimmicks.

Farting, don't think, just fart.

The highest purpose is to have no purpose at all. This puts one in accordance with nature, in her manner of operation.

John Cage Quotes

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