Unconscious Play

Major Studio 2

Mini-Thesis

Xu Jia

Water Walk, John Cage, 1960

John Cage’s music theory

1937 The Future of Music: Credo

Music: organization of sound

late 1940s: Indian Philosophy and Zen Buddism

chance-controlled music

Questions the division between the artistic sphere and ordinary life.

Chance Operation

Set a number of clear parameters, and then carefully

formulate questions, which chance operation would

“answer”.

Chance Operation

Introducing chance into art making has a number of important consequences: it diminishes the control over the artistic product, and it mirrors the randomness of everyday life.

Action Painting

Jackson Pollock,Number 8, 1949

Analogy

Unconscious Play VS Action Painting

Paints splashed onto the canvas, rather than being

carefully applied. The resulting work often

emphasizes the physical act of painting itself as an

essential aspect of the finished work or concern of

its artist.

Joseph Beuys : “Every human being is an artist”

Participation: the audience’s role changes from

passive observers into active producers.

How could everybody become an artist as an

unconscious player?

A step further

Methods and material

• Physical computing

• Max/Msp

• Laser Cutting

• Transparent acrylic board

Cardboard Plotter by Niklas Roy

Modeling

Inner Structure

Input Output

Audio Pin

Contact Mic

Preamp

Hardware