John Cage, “one of the most influential composers in modern history” (as he has been called), was also one of the happiest. The story of how Cage found happiness – and used it to create new forms of music and art – offers a useful and original way of describing profound shifts in the cultural history of the last half-century. Cage learned from Zen Buddhism that there is no “gap” between art and life. In fact, there is no gap anywhere. Nothing separates us from others, or from the consequences of our actions. By asking spiritual questions and finding answers, Cage constructed an active happiness that opened his heart, mind and arms to others.
The lecture is part of the program of Jeppe Hein’s exhibition and new work of art that is based on the artist’s desire to understand what happiness is. Both Cage and Hein are inspired by Zen Buddhism, and one can find influences of Eastern tradition in both their artistry.
Kay Larson
Kay Larson is the former art critic of New York Magazine (1980 – 1994) and was a frequent contributor to the New York Times (1995 – 2005). She is author of the book Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists (Penguin Press, July, 2012) and a practicing Buddhist.
Mako Ishizuka
Living in different countries away from her native Japan, Mako Ishizuka has nourished an interest in the distance and structure between individuals and their surrounding world. Using her personal experiences and imagination as a springboard, she attempts to negotiate the physical and psychological distances present in our everyday sphere through her art practice. It is manifested through installations, which often employ photography, video, drawing and spatial intervention, as well as social projects, in which she involves people and uses social media such as food, actions and post, to challenge distance and structure.
Mako Ishizuka was born in Kobe, Japan. live and work in Stockholm, Sweden. In May 2013, her works will be shown at Konstnärshuset in Stockholm.
Gunilla Klingberg
Gunilla Klingberg combines patterned images with sculptures and sound pieces. Klingberg is perhaps best known for her characteristic patterns of recycled cut-price supermarket logotypes. The modest and mundane logotypes of Sparlivs and Lidl are transformed into seductively beautiful oriental patterns, while the logotype of Spar forms the foundation for a kaleidoscopic animation. Gunilla Klingberg is interested in contemporary consumer culture. Employing topical visual expressions, she juxtaposes consumerism with spirituality, low-budget design with Eastern imagery. By combining disparate features, she creates new meanings and new meetings between cultures, forms of expression and traditions.
Gunilla Klingberg was born in 1966 in Stockholm, Sweden, where she currently lives and works. In 2009 she was Bonniers Konsthall’s Guest Artist with a big solo presentation.