From the excerpt in the book, John Cage seems to be a modern Renaissance man, to say the least. He is widely known not only as an artist, but as a pianist and a music theorist as well. Throughout the chapter it is apparent that Cage is pursuing an art that goes beyond individual expression. Cage also insists that the true function of art in our time is to open up the minds and hearts of contemporary men ad women to the immensity of changes, in order that the might be able to "wake up to the very life" they are living in the modern world.
Part of the chapter also chronicles Cage's history as a young boy and a budding musician and artist. Cage made an interesting point at the part in the chapter where it discuses his schooling and education. He says that one day the history teacher assigned the class a reading in the text. Cage said that the "idea of everyone reading the exact same information just revolted me." He decided to go to the library and read things that had relevance to the topic and he ended up getting an A on the paper. Cage is also well versed in theatre as well as the chapter continues to explain. Cage's ambitions inspire me to explore more fields as an artist.
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