John Cage

The notorious composer John Cage wrote a piece of avant garde music entitled 3 minutes of silence. It does not matter when or where - that is not terribly relevant. The actual number of minutes of silence could be 3 or 3.5 or I don't know. That's not relevant either. People actually take that seriously. The piano player actually sits for the length of time indicated in the "score." It is absurd. In the art world, what would be the equivalent of such a stupid thing? A blank wall with a small label on the side with the title "Blank Wall" printed on it? I know about some well-known artist who applied white paint to a white canvas then gave it a title and sold it to some ultra-sophisticated art patron for I don't know how much - lots of money. Real money. That would not be the same as John Cage's "silence."