John Cage: Every Day is a Good Day

The exhibition was conceived by Jeremy Millar and organised with the close support and guidance of the John Cage Trust, in collaboration with BALTIC.

Inspired by Cage’s use of chance-determined scores, the exhibition differed markedly from a traditional touring exhibition.

The procedure that Cage often employed, using an I Ching-like computer programme was used to determine the layout of the exhibition at each venue, with the position of each work being determined through chance operations.

This resulted in the works being displayed at different heights and in groups that no curator would ordinarily choose, with such chance encounters between works giving a sense of them as being part of an ongoing creative process, rather than the result of a single creative moment.

Much as Cage removed his intention from his own works through chance operations, it was hoped that the curator’s intention could similarly be removed from this exhibition.

With more than 100 works on paper, including drawings, watercolours and prints, the exhibition focused on Cage’s visual art, while a documentary section and events programmed by each venue explored other aspects of his practice – music especially, but also writing, dance, performance and film.