Where There is Where There - Urban Landscape
1987-1989
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
monotype on Stonehenge paper
Dimensions
image: 40.6 x 61 cm (16 x 24 in.) sheet: 58.4 x 76.2 cm (23 x 30 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Crown Point Press
Accession Number
1996.94.27
Art Historical Context
John Cage's *Where There is Where There Urban Landscape* (1987-1989) invites viewers into the experimental world of one of the 20th century's most innovative artists. Best known for his groundbreaking music and philosophy of chance, Cage turned to visual arts later in life, creating prints that echo his ideas of indeterminacy and perception. This monotype, measuring 40.6 x cm on Stonehenge paper, captures an abstract urban vista through layered inks and textures, evoking bustling energy of cityscapes. Monotype, a unique printmaking technique, involves painting directly onto a smooth plate—of...
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...