Listen for the Music

American composer John Cage’s disruptive work 4’33” (four minutes, thirty-three seconds) consisted of pianist David Tudor sitting silently at the piano bench for the noted length of time. Not everyone understood what the composer was trying to say, and many did not consider it to be music.

Innovation is what moves any art form forward. I was inspired as I considered the impact of innovation on the arts. Cage’s 4’33” is presented in the form of random red and green circles, like the Ishihara color blindness test. Not everyone will see its main image, just like many did not see the point of Cage’s work. The quilting pattern reflects a very ordinary E-flat major scale with conventional dynamic markings, an underlying message that even the most innovative artistic work owes its existence to the foundations laid by previous generations.