On the Relationship Between Inside and Outside: Conceptualising Acoustic Space in John Cage's Variations IV
Michael D. Fowler · Architectural Theory Review · 2012
This paper is an attempt to construct a spatial acoustic theory on the manner of operations within John Cage's 1963 musical composition titled Variations IV . In constructing such a theory I introduce Barry Blesser and Linda-Ruth Salter's notion of aural architecture , reflect on a number of details and references in Cage's score, and apply the visualisation methodology of semiotician A. J. Greimas. I also examine Cage's realisation directives as a system of emergence, primarily through the work's notation and its inherent spatial proclivities. In applying the semiotic square visualisation technique of Greimas I further derive the deep-level concepts of site , scale , landscape , and architecture , and discuss their relevance to the manner in which an emergent aural architecture is constructed by the work. A final diagram maps the listener experience of Variations IV as one predicated on the merging between interior and exterior acoustic spaces through the fluctuating interrelation between local and dista...