Prior to Fluxus, art's audience was those who belonged to the upper class and high society. With the conception of Fluxus, art became accessible and relatable to all walks of life by emphasizing our everyday lives, questioning what art is and who can create it.
John Cage envelops the ideology of the Fluxus movement with his musical compositions, particularly his renowned and controversial work, 4'33". This 3 movement piece lasts 4 minutes and 33 seconds, and is written for any and all instrumentation... but Cage instructs the musicians not to play their instruments. Ultimately, even though none of the musicians are playing, I feel the piece's purpose is not to create complete silence, but become aware of the musical score around us: the hum of the stagelights, the whispering audience members, the slight movements of the unplaying musicians. And in that situation, everyone and everything becomes the musician.
Apparently, there is a wrong way to "play" 4'33," as I coincidentally read this article the other day: http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2013/10/13/amateur-performers-botch-up-john-cages-433/
As the article states, when performed correctly, 4'33" is about ‘challenging the very nature of challenging the very nature of music,’ which screams Fluxus to me.
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As for where this leads my project idea, I have yet to formulate anything remotely concrete. Although John Cage is inspiring, I'm not sure I want to take what seems like a sound-heavy route. One roughly developed idea includes studying fashion/couture somehow. I hope to talk more about this tomorrow, even to further understand what an experiment video is!
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