I found that this article did a great job of connecting John Cage's art to his life and vice versa. As we watched first John Cage's 4'33" in class without too much deep context and understanding this article was a greater deep dive into the mind of the artist that truly felt humanizing and important. I found it specifically interesting to hear about certain notable life events that really connected me more to the ethos of John Cage. One moment that specifically pointed to Cage's nack for controversy and outrage was his quote after being asked about being a Harvard professor, his response being: “not much different from not being a Harvard professor.” This quote specifically demonstrates the fact that John Cage truly accepts the position of a true contrarian. I also found Cage's approach to framing with art, where each of the performances of 4'33" is a different experience highlighting different elements of natural sounds, humanity, and themes that would otherwise go unnoticed during a performance of music in the traditional sense. I feel that Cage's approach to art is helpful in that it really highlights the humanity part of art where it is a deeply personal and subjective experience for all. This truly has been an interesting way to experience not only art but nature, where it feels like anything can be art as long as it is framed as art and that there is a medium for which that art is experienced. Art can be completely subjective and that is what makes it perpetually interesting.
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