Eninka No. 29
1986
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
burned, smoked, and branded gampi paper mounted to Don Farnsworth handmade paper
Dimensions
image: 62.2 x 47 cm (24 1/2 x 18 1/2 in.) sheet: 62.2 x 47 cm (24 1/2 x 18 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Crown Point Press
Accession Number
1996.94.24
Art Historical Context
Eninka No. 29, created by avant-garde composer and artist John Cage in 1986, exemplifies his late-career foray into visual art through experimental printmaking. Produced in collaboration with Crown Point Press—a renowned California studio specializing in innovative prints—this work is part of the Eninka series, where Cage embraced chance operations to generate unpredictable imagery. The piece measures 62.2 x 47 cm and was generously gifted to the National Gallery of Art. Cage's technique involved burning, smoking, and branding delicate gampi paper—a thin, translucent Japanese paper prized for...
About the Artist
John Cage
John Cage (1912–1992), born in Los Angeles to inventor John Milton Cage Sr. and journalist Lucretia "Crete" Harvey, an amateur artist, initially explored painting during travels in Europe in 1930 but soon pivoted to music. His early visual pursuits were sparsely documented, yielding no surviving works, as feedback favored his compositions. He married artist Xenia Andreyevna Kashevaroff, a bookbind...