What 4′33″ also Is: A Response to Dodd

Abstract

Julian Dodd [2018] persuasively argues that John Cage’s 4′33″ should be characterised as (1) a silent piece, as opposed to a sonically replete piece, containing the environmental sounds that occur as it is performed; (2) a piece of performance art, but not a piece of music; (3) a work of conceptual art. While I agree with Dodd’s claims, I contend that he fails to account for two features of 4′33″. I argue that a qualified description of Cage’s work as belonging to a subgenre of conceptual art could address these shortcomings.