Score without Parts (40 Drawings by Thoreau): Twelve Haiku
Score without Parts (40 Drawings by Thoreau): Twelve Haiku
Score without Parts (40 Drawings by Thoreau): Twelve Haiku

© John Cage

Score without Parts (40 Drawings by Thoreau): Twelve Haiku
Score without Parts (40 Drawings by Thoreau): Twelve Haiku
Score without Parts (40 Drawings by Thoreau): Twelve Haiku

Currently not on view

Score without Parts (40 Drawings by Thoreau): Twelve Haiku,

1978

John Cage, 1912–1992; born Los Angeles, CA; died New York, NY
Printed by Stephen Thomas, American, active 1975–1980
Printed by Lilah Toland, American, active 1978–1983
Published by Crown Point Press, established 1962
x1993-223

In this work, Cage, who is among the most influential composers and conceptual artists of the postwar avant-garde, duplicates the score with which he conducted his 1974 composition Score (40 Drawings by Thoreau) and 23 Parts. Inspired by the writings of the American naturalist Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), the artist replaced conventional musical notation with small drawings of natural elements—seeds, animal tracks, and nests—drawn from Thoreau’s journal, which Cage selected and sequenced at random with the aid of the I Ching, an ancient Chinese divination text. He then divided each of the twelve bars into three sections of five, seven, and five measures, transforming the score into a visual, sonorous, and experiential haiku.

Information

Title
Score without Parts (40 Drawings by Thoreau): Twelve Haiku
Dates

1978

Maker
John Cage
Printed by Stephen Thomas
Printed by Lilah Toland
Published by Crown Point Press
Medium
Hard-ground etching, soft-ground etching, photo-etching, drypoint, sugar-lift aquatint, and engraving
Dimensions
plate: 32.9 x 46.5 cm. (12 15/16 x 18 5/16 in.) sheet: 56.8 x 75.8 cm. (22 3/8 x 29 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of James Kraft, Class of 1957
Object Number
x1993-223
Place Made

North America, United States, California, San Francisco

Inscription
Titled, numbered, signed, and dated in graphite below plate, right: Score without Parts (40 Drawings by Thoreau) Twelve Haiku 12//25 John Cage '78
Marks/Labels/Seals
Publisher's, workshop, and printer's blindstamps lower right: CROWN POINT PRESS / STEPHEN THOMAS
Culture
American
Type
prints, aquatints, drypoints, etchings
Materials
printing ink, hard ground
Techniques
engraving (printing process), etching (printing process), aquatint, engraving (incising), photoengraving, drypoint, sugar-lift, mounting
Subject
scores

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