Friday, 1:34pm
6 August 2010

Cage unbound

the events department
Music design
New media
Visual culture

From watercolours at the Baltic to Water Walk on a quiz show

According to Schoenberg, John Cage (1912-1992) wasn’t a composer, but ‘an inventor – of genius.’ Cage was also a visual artist and printmaker, and his scores are wonderful visual artefacts, too, see ‘Sound, code, image’ in Eye 26.

The touring exhibition ‘Every Day is a Good Day’ is apparently the first major show of Cage’s prints, watercolours and drawings, and you can see it at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead until 5 September 2010.

Top: 10 Stones, 1989.

75 Stones, 1989, John Cage

Above: 75 Stones, 1989.

HV2, No. 17b, 1992, John Cage

Above: HV2, No. 17b, 1992.

Soundcodeimage Eye26 pp.24-25

Above: Spread from ‘Sound, code, image’, in Eye 26. The detail on the right is from the score of Cage’s Concert for Piano and orchestra (1958).

To get an idea of Cage the man, see this famous clip of him performing his composition Water Walk on the US quiz show I’ve Got A Secret.

Eye magazine is available from all good design bookshops and at the online Eye shop, where you can order subscriptions, single issues and back issues.

The summer issue, 76, out now, is a music special – full contents here, and you can see a selection of visual details on Eye Before You Buy on Issuu.

Student subscriptions are half price, see bit.ly/EyeStudentOffer.