OK OK, I can handle Van Gogh's Starry Night: I get it. All I have to do is squint while I am looking at the stars and there you have it. (Alternatively, eye drops by your eye doctor or hallucinatory substances can produce the same effect.)
Picasso? Next time you kiss someone, open your eyes and you will see your personal Picasso painting.
Mossolov: isn't this what DiDonato does with his clanging prose describing the workplace?
But, but, but, but John Cage? No way: this is not art. This is not music. This is a joke.
Or maybe not.
COMMENTS
I believe the book could be considered art. It paints a picture in your head that is complex yet has a simple meaning. Through the style of writing you are able to feel the energy and emotions that are going on during this hard time in the characters life. While you are reading the short banter or long run on sentences the image you create in your brain changes. Art can come in many forms and 'Christ in Concrete' is one of those forms.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with Jack, the book does paint a picture. Art is something that is imagined. The way in which the book gives you the ability to feel as if you were in the character's predicaments is amazing. Art is most certainly built off of creativity but is also used to make connections.
ReplyDeleteI would also say the book paint pictures. Due to use of metaphors throughout the novel you can feel the environment and emotions.
ReplyDeleteI am unsure if the prompt is asking if John Cage is art or if "Christ in Concrete" is art. Art requires dual-directional knowledge. The piece must speak to the viewer and the viewer must echo or speak to the piece. Anything brought forth for the sake of expression, through labor and work, can be art; good or bad.
ReplyDeletePietro Di Donato and John Cage have similarities to many similarities for either to be not art. Both artist utilize streams of consciousness. Eerie semi dissident chords strung together or entire movements of silence are examples of John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes and 3'44". These examples utilize techniques similar to Di Donato's streams of consciousness and utilization of unaccounted for external noise, or atmosphere. Both creators use common mediums to express their own interpretation and experiences of life, their medium, and their merging. "Christ in Concrete" and the pieces written by John Cage are art.
I personally do not think that the work of John Cage is art. I would not pay to sit in a theater and watch him do nothing. There is beauty in art and it is an expression of an artists emotions. What is John Cage expressing? Silence is all around us and it is the same for everyone. In my opinion there is no beauty in silence, especially when you are staring at a man at a piano. The book Christ in Concrete is art. Pietro DiDonato writes in such a descriptive and brilliant way. He has his own writing style and he is able to express several emotions on each page of the book.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the more musical compositions John Cage has put together. He actually has some fairly beautiful sounding pieces, that I could see bing overshadowed by his more extreme art forms. Yes, 3'44" is stupid and I don't like it. However he raises a good question. Does art have to be beautiful or appealing in anyway?
DeleteArt can be defined as anything that can make ones imagination run wild. Although John Cage's art is simple and in a way dull, it can still be considered art. One could call it abstract art like a lot of the pieces by Jackson Pollock. It all depends on the person looking at the art and how they may interpret it. The "music" on the other hand I believe is not music at all but just plain silence.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe silence is a form of art, therefore I do not agree that John Cage's work is art. However, the book Christ in Concrete is an example of art because the author uses his own creative writing styles to convey his messages. Picasso's work is art that conveys his message and feelings through his many different art pieces. He uses his talent to express and apply his imagination.
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ReplyDeleteIf anyone thought the "performance" by John Cage was interesting.. I suggest the class "Music: Its language, history and culture" given here at Brooklyn College. (Many of you may have already taken it.) But we spend a whole class period on music of the 1900's and Modernism. John Cage is one of those musicians. However ridiculous it may seem, I do consider it art. I would categorize it as performance art, if anything. The point of the performance seems to be to get a reaction from the crowd. A lot of the music from that era you might also dislike as well. For example "Dynamic Motions' by Henry Cowell in 1916 is suppose to imitate a New York subway... however it sounds pretty horrendous to me. I think the saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" comes in play big time when talking about John Cage.
ReplyDeleteThis book can absolutely be considered art because it gives a descriptive picture. The readers are able to see the picture not on paper but in their heads. Also poetry is considered art and there is a poetic writing style to Christ in Concrete.
ReplyDeleteLike what Francesca said, I took the music class she was talking about. I heard about this before and it isnt hard to grasp why it is considered art, rather it takes more understanding that art is perception. If something has the power to make you think about something or formulate emotion it is art (at least to me). Even different versions of silence is a form of art because different kinds of silence can bring forth different emotions. It is all up to perception, you might not like it, but it is art.
ReplyDeleteThe book "Christ in Concrete" can be work of art because there are many things that a reader views with imagination. Since this book is transliteration it is even more realistic. The writing style seems very interesting so it is an art.
ReplyDeleteOf course, "Christ" can be considered a piece of art. Art allows the creative freedom of expression and this books paints a vivid picture in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the unorthodox technique in which it was told; literal translation is a form I don't believe I have seen before this book.
After watching John Cage: 4'33 for piano, I do agree that this IS a joke. This is not music. This is not art. This is a lack of. If this was a performing piece, part of a play or a theatre, I would understand if it made sense to the story, but this being labeled as "music" is a joke. Calling it, "the Master's Silent Piece." That is too much. I play music, I write my own music and I find this a disgrace.
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