10 Stones 1989

John Cage made this artwork, '10 Stones,' with, what looks like, muted watercolors and delicate ink work. Right away, you see it’s about process, not a picture of something. There's this big, soft cloud shape dominating the top half. It’s like he let the water do its thing, guiding it maybe, but also letting go. Down below, though, are these small, deliberate shapes: circles, squares, little doodles almost, in primary colors. That tension between control and chance makes the piece so interesting. Cage was all about exploring sound and silence, and I see that here too. The big wash is the silence, maybe, and those little shapes are like the notes, carefully placed but still kind of random. It reminds me a little of Cy Twombly’s work, that looseness and the sense of something ancient. But Cage brings his own Zen sensibility to it all. It's a reminder that art doesn't always have to say something; it can just be.