John Cage Quotes

118 quotes in 1285 categories

• I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.
• If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it…
• The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you…
• There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing.
• There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, try…
• It is better to make a piece of music than to perform one, better to perform one than to listen to one, better to listen…
• The highest purpose is to have no purpose at all. This puts one in accord with nature, in her manner of operation.
• There's no such thing as silence. Something is always happening that makes a sound.
• We are involved in a life that passes understanding and our highest business is our daily life.
• Everyday is a beautiful day, Everything is pleasing
• If someone says can't, that shows you what to do.
• Now that we have everything we need, we discover that there is almost nothing that we have that we want
• We carry our homes within us which enables us to fly.
• The function of Art is to imitate Nature in her manner of operation. Our understanding of her manner of operation&Rdquo; changes according to advances in…
• Art is whatever you can get away with.
• Food, one assumes, provides nourishment; but Americans eat it fully aware that small amounts of poison have been added to improve its appearance and delay…
• There are no secrets.It's just we thought that they said dead. When they said bread.
• Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating.
• Look at everything. Don't close your eyes to the world around you. Look and become curious and interested in what there is to see.
• When we separate music from life we get art.

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