John Cage Quotes (27 Quotes)


    When we separate music from life we get art.

    The highest purpose is to have no purpose at all. This puts one in accord with nature, in her manner of operation.

    I have nothing to say, I am saying it, and that is poetry.

    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 discover that there is no reason.

    About eleven oclock we were out in the street walking along, and an American lady said, 'How is it, Dr. Suzuki We spend the evening asking you questions and nothing is decided.' Dr. Suzuki smiled and said, 'Thats why I love philosophy no one wins.


    If you don't have enough time to accomplish something, consider the work finished once it's begun.

    Ideas are one thing and what happens is another.


    We carry our homes within us which enables us to fly.

    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 is not boring at all.

    We need not destroy the past. It is gone.

    It's useless to play lullabies for those who cannot sleep.

    Music is edifying, for from time to time it sets the soul in operation

    We are involved in a life that passes understanding and our highest business is our daily life.

    Try as we may to make a silence, we cannot.

    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 its putrefaction.

    Theres no such thing as silence. Something is always happening that makes a sound.

    Beware of losing what isn't in your head.

    There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing.

    The grand thing about the human mind is that it can turn its own tables and see meaninglessness as ultimate meaning

    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 to one than to misuse it as a means of distraction, entertainment, or acquisition of "culture."

    There are no secrets. It's just we thought that they said dead When they said bread.

    Music is a means of Rapid Transportation.

    I have nothing to say And I am saying it And that is poetry

    If someone says 'can't,' that shows you what to do.

    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 as we may to make a silence, we cannot.


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