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  • Every Day is a Good Day: The Visual Art of John Cage

Millar, Jeremy, 2010, Book, Every Day is a Good Day: The Visual Art of John Cage Hayward Gallery Publishing, London. ISBN 978-1853322839

Abstract or Description:

John Cage: Every Day is a Good Day – the first major survey of the visual art of John Cage, in the form of an exhibition and accompanying book – was conceived, written and curated by Millar. Commissioned by Hayward Touring exhibitions, the exhibition opened at BALTIC, Gateshead (2010) and ended its six-venue tour at the Hayward Gallery, London (2011). Approximately 130,000 visitors saw the exhibition.
Whilst Cage is widely acknowledged as the central figure in the development of experimental music from the 1950s onwards, and his influence on the visual arts is well understood, his own practice as a visual artist had not previously been explored in depth. To realise this project, Millar investigated archival material and conducted interviews with a number of Cage's key collaborators, including Kathan Brown, founder-director of Crown Point Press, San Francisco; Ray Kass, artist; and Julie Lazar, curator of Cage's 1992 'Rolywholyover A Circus'.
The accompanying book contains interpretative essays by Millar; transcripts of interviews; and reprints of archival material. In addition, Millar devised the ‘Companion to Cage’ for the book, a fully cross-referenced collection of entries on Cage and his work, from ‘alphabet’ to ‘Zen’. The book introduces new and hitherto unknown material to the public, and offers new insights into the relations between Cage’s musical and visual works.
The exhibition was an experiment in method. Millar created a Cagean scheme based on chance operations. The exhibition was reviewed widely, including by the Guardian (2010): ‘Millar has tried to follow, and even extend, Cage's own vision of what an exhibition might be…[an] invitation to the participating galleries to choose rules for their version of the show and then within that structure to give in to the vagaries of chance’. Other reviews included Frieze (2010), Studio International (2011) and The Scotsman (2011).

Contributors:
ContributionNameRCA ID
AuthorMillar, Jeremy0711562006868
ArtistCage, John
AuthorMalbert, Roger
IntervieweeKuhn, Laura
IntervieweeBrown, Kathan
IntervieweeKass, Ray
IntervieweeLazar, Julie
AuthorLuckett, Helen
AuthorWright, Lauren
AuthorSandler, Irving
Official URL: http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/haywar...
Subjects: Creative Arts and Design > W100 Fine Art
Creative Arts and Design > W100 Fine Art > W110 Drawing
Creative Arts and Design > W100 Fine Art > W120 Painting
Creative Arts and Design > W100 Fine Art > W140 Printmaking
Creative Arts and Design > W300 Music
Creative Arts and Design > W300 Music > W330 History of Music
Creative Arts and Design > W900 Others in Creative Arts and Design
School or Centre: School of Arts & Humanities
Copyright Holders: Hayward Gallery / Southbank Centre, John Cage Trust, The authors
Date Deposited: 16 Nov 2011 14:24
Last Modified: 09 Nov 2018 15:43
URI: https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/id/eprint/689
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