Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day One

John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day One, 1978, hard ground etching and drypoint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.1
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day One, 1978, hard ground etching and drypoint, 1216 78 in. (30.542.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.1

Artwork Details

Title
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day One
Artist
Papermaker
Publisher
Crown Point Press
Date
1978
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
1216 78 in. (30.542.9 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Moses Lasky
Mediums Description
hard ground etching and drypoint
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
2004.32.5.1

Artwork Description

John Cage began making prints after a long and distinguished career as a musical composer. When he was invited Crown Point Press in San Francisco, he called upon ideas and principles he had used as a musician: the development of an idea over time, reliance on chance, the privileging of process over representation, and what he called “the social habits of musicians…the division of labor.”
The title of this series refers to the seven-day period over which he made the prints, completing one each day. When he began, he did not know the technical aspects of the printmaking processes he was going to use, but learned them as he worked with assistance from the professional printers. Over the course of seven days, he tried all the processes available to him at Crown Point Press. He chose a paper he liked as well as the horizontal format and the size of the margins. He selected modest sized copper plates that floated within a twelve-inch central square, and determined the size and shape of his plates by consulting his I Ching charts. His attitudes developed from his studies of Zen Buddhism. By creating a sense of emptiness, he expressed visually the Zen state of “not knowing.”

Multiplicity, 2011

Works by this artist (2 items)

Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, State Names, 2000, oil, collage and mixed media on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Elizabeth Ann Dugan and museum purchase, 2004.28
State Names
Date2000
oil, collage and mixed media on canvas
Not on view
Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Untitled, from the portfolio Indian Self-Rule, 1983, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Institute of the American West, 1984.78.3, © Jaune Quick-To-See Smith
Untitled, from the portfolio Indian Self-Rule
Date1983
color lithograph on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Rose Williams, Pot with Incised Decoration, ca. 1992, fired and incised clay with piñon pitch, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1997.124.183
Pot with Incised Decoration
Dateca. 1992
fired and incised clay with piñon pitch
On view
Tom Polacca, Pot with Sgraffito Butterfly Decoration, 1986, fired and sgraffito carved clay, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1997.124.169
Pot with Sgraffito Butterfly Decoration
Date1986
fired and sgraffito carved clay
Not on view
Faye Tso, Head of Emmett, ca. 1985, fired clay with piñon pitch, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1997.124.175
Head of Emmett
Dateca. 1985
fired clay with piñon pitch
Not on view
Jerry Brown, Untitled Face Jug, 1993, earthenware and glaze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Martha and Pat Connell, 2000.97
Untitled Face Jug
Date1993
earthenware and glaze
Not on view