Art Reboot

31 So when John Cage’s famous ‘silent’ work 4’33” premiered in 1952, the concept had been understood in China for centuries, a fact perhaps not lost on a composer renowned for his eastern interests. Many primitive objects now considered art were made as ritual tools for the invocation of spirits and deities. Indeed, ritual in ancient China was considered an art form long before painting was. To contemplate ritual objects for aesthetic purposes would not have occurred to their makers, so their presentation in art museums is, while anthropologically intriguing and informative, anomalous. On the other hand, it is entirely in keeping with the concept of a process-based aesthetic in which a urinal or bottle rack, a piece of driftwood or a pleasantly-shaped stone can act efficiently as art. The nature of a product is not fixed eternally by whoever made it or even by the audience for whom it was originally produced, whether human or of the spirit world. As we become more sophisticated, the arts – even those of ancient cultures – can acquire new meaning. A good example is the ritual bronzes of the Zhou dynasty (c.1046–256). Today we look upon these vessels as an art form, and an exceptionally impressive one. But when they were made the intention was not to create art, but to create suitable vessels with which to propitiate the spirit world. The ritual was the art; the vessels were respectfully-made ritual tools, a means to a more meaningful end. Today the ritual is forgotten, other than by a few academic specialists. It is the objects that are revered as art.