JOHN CAGE

Provenance:
- Margarete Roeder Gallery, New York.
- Purchased from the above by the present owner, since then collection Dr. Ursula Perrucchi, Switzerland.

John Cage, born in Los Angeles in 1912, was one of the most influential and innovative composers of the 20th century. At the same time, he is considered the founder of the Happening and Fluxus movements in the 1950s. After completing his studies in composition and harmony in Paris, Los Angeles and New York and his numerous teaching assignments, including at the famous Black Mountain College, he developed compositional and theoretical works that revolutionised the history of music. Even in his student days, he was open to the art of his time and was soon acquainted with members of the avant-garde in Paris. Ultimately, it was probably his friendship with Merce Cunningham that caused him to immerse himself in the artistic scene and become an influential part of it.

The present drawing belongs to the series "Where R =Ryoanji", a group of drawings, etchings and lithographs that can be understood as a lifelong process in Cage's artistic work. The works are characterised by a spatial structure with varying circular forms of fine to strong overlapping lines.

In keeping with his fascination with Zen theory, the Zen Buddhist Garden in Kyoto is the starting point for this series of drawings. In it, 15 different natural stones are arranged in 5 geometrically separated areas. These surfaces are surrounded by evenly raked white sand, which is supposed to imitate water.

Cage's basic materials are 15 uneven pebbles and 17 pencils of different thickness and hardness. He dispenses with any kind of subjective artistic decision, but follows the principle of the "I Ching". This decides on the number of stones and type of pencils the artist uses for each line. Each pencil may only be used once per drawing. For the present drawing, this means that the 15 stones were repositioned 13 times and 14 pencils were used.