Persons of note: Research

John Cage

"I once asked Aragon, the historian, how history was written. He said, "You have to invent it." 

Who is he? What did he do?
John Cage: An American Composer who's ideas profoundly influenced mid-20th- century music.

John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher, and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage




By 1939 he had begun to experiment with increasingly unorthodox instruments such as the "prepared piano." (what is this?) He also experimented with tape recorders, record players and radios. His 1943 percussion ensemble concert at the Museum of Modern Art marked the first step in his emergence as a leader of the American musical avant-garde.

http://www.biography.com/people/john-cage-40612



A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects between or on the 

strings. The first composer to use it extensively was John Cage, who is often credited with inventing the instrument.

"Before I left the Cornish School I made the prepared piano. I needed percussion instruments for music for a dance that had an African character by Syvilla Fort. But the theater in which she was to dance had no wings and there was no pit. There was only a small grand piano built in to the front and left of the audience. At the time I either wrote twelve‑tone music for piano or I wrote percussion music. There was no room for the instruments. I couldn't find an African twelve tone row. I finally realized I had to change the piano. I did so by placing objects between the strings. The piano was transformed into a percussion orchestra having the loudness, say, of a harpsichord." - John Cage

facweb.cs.depaul.edu/sgrais/prepared_piano.htm
http://johncage.org/autobiographical_statement.html

Influences?

"When I wish as now to tell of critical incidents, persons, and events that have influenced my life and work, the true answer is all of the incidents were critical, all of the people influenced me, everything that happened and that is still happening influences me." - John Cage

http://johncage.org/autobiographical_statement.html

What I've gathered so far about John Cage:

•  He's an American Composer that profoundly influenced 20th century music.
•  He went to college but dropped out thinking he would become a writer.
• Was not only interested in music but also art.
• Was the creator of the prepared piano.
• He was very experimental with music and sounds.

Starting points in producing work based on Cage? 

• Sound Maps!!! (to represent the sounds and pieces of music he was so experimental with). Perhaps listen to his music and see what comes out in terms of sound mapping.
• Could include images of pianos? screen print? monoprint? as it's quite an iconic instrument in terms of representing Cage. Thinks of objects he used to create the prepared piano (a just the notes) like screws...
• Collage and work with music sheets? his in particular.

Thoughts so far:

So far I think John Cage is a pretty cool guy, I mean he obviously made history, things would be different without his existence. I feel as if Id be happy to base my work on him, Ive enjoyed reading about him and I feel as if I'd be comfortable picking him for my project. I have a few ideas I could experiment with however my mind might change after researching my other persons of note.

Ray and Charles Eames

who are they? what did they do? Ray and Charles are Designers who are among the most important in the 20th Century.

Charles Ormond Eames, Jr (1907–1978) and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" (née Kaiser) Eames (1912–1988) were husband and wife American designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture. Among their most well-known designs is the Eames Lounge Chair. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_and_Ray_Eames

The Eameses are best known for their groundbreaking contributions to architecture, furniture design, industrial design and manufacturing, and the photographic arts.

  
  Charles

• Born in 1907 - St.Louis, Missouri.
• Went to school and developed an interest in Engineering and Architecture.
• After University began working in an architectural office.
• 1929 married first Wife Catherine Woermann (divorced 1941)
• 1930 started his own architectural office.
• began expanding his design ideas beyond architecture and received fellowship to Cranbrook academy of art in Michigan where he eventually became head of design depart.

      Ray

• Born in 1912 - Sacramento, California.
• Studied painting with Hanns Hofmann in NY 
• moved on to Cranbrook Academy 
• Met and assisted Charles and Eero Saarinen in preparing designs for the Museum of Modern Art's Organic Furniture Competition.
• Charles and Eero’s designs, created by moulding plywood into complex curves, won them the two first prizes.

          Ray and Charles 

• Married in 1941.
• Moved to California and continued furniture design with moulding plywood.
• They were commissioned by the united states navy to produce moulded plywood splints, stretchers and experimental glider shells during WW II.
• 1946 Evans Products began producing the Eameses" moulded plywood furniture.
• Their moulded plywood chair was called the chair of the century by the influential architectural critic Esther McCoy.
• Production was taken over by Herman Miller, Inc, who continues to produce the furnitre in the USA today.
• Vitra International manufacturers the furniture in Europe.

Eames House

• 1949 Emaes' designed and built their own home as a part of the Case study House Programme.
• Their design and innovative use of materials made the house a mecca for archiects and designers.
• today it is considered one of the most important post-war residences anywhere in the world.

http://www.eamesoffice.com/eames-office/charles-and-ray/

What Ive gathered so far about Ray and Charles Eames:

• THEY CREATED THE FUNKY CHAIRS THAT WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE.
• They where very talented designers who's designs were like nothing ever seen before (in the late 40's) 
• Their designs where really fun and playful.
• They contributed towards the war effort.
• They made really cool films shown on 7 screens.
• Ray was a painter and colourist who wanted everything to be bright and beautiful (much like the chairs) and Charles was an architect by training.
• They made films which were shown on 7 small screens - it sounds like it would be a lot to look at all at ones but they designed them specifically so that there was enough information on the screens to look at all at ones and not seem too lost within it.

Starting points in relation to Ray and Charles:

• Chairs!!! I think the chairs are a really iconic object in relation to the Eames' so that would be a really good starting point - draw, sketch, collage.
• maybe create something linked to architecture? build something? not like a house 3D? small sculpture?
• They made some pretty cool films which were shown on 7 small screens - maybe create some collages in a similar form?

Overall thoughts:

So far these guys are my fav, I never realised that they were the creators of the colourful retro chairs?! I've enjoyed reading about them and their lives - I think theres a lot of paths I could go down for this project e.g architecture and the eames house, film, or furniture. I think a lot more research is needed - need to find out what type of people they are - personality wise - so that way I can really project who they are.   

Yorisho Nakamatsu

who is he? what does he do? Yorisho Nakamatsu is a Japanese inventor, inventor of the floppy disk!

Yoshiko Nakamatsu (born June 26, 1928), also known as Dr. NakaMats, is a Japanese inventor who has become a minor celebrity for his inventions. He regularly appears on Japanese talk shows which, in conjunction with his appearance, usually craft a humorous segment based on one or more of his inventions. He is a prolific inventor, and he even claims to hold the world record for number of inventions with over 4,000 patents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiro_Nakamatsu


Inventions (some are strange???)

• The Floppy Disk.
• Enerex - Stystem for generating hydrogen and oxygen.
• Pyon Pyon juming shoes with leaf springs on their soles.
• Cerebreex armchair, a chair that supposedly improves mental function such as calculation and thinking by cooling the head and heating the feet.
• A toilet seat lifter.
• A condom with an embedded magnet, supposedly "improving sensitivity" as "electricity is generated in the blood vessels in the female organs by Fleming's left-hand rule"
• A "wig for self defense" — a strip and a weight are attached to a wig. The wearer swings the wig to hit an attacker.
• A CD for supposedly "enhancing brightness or sexual function".
• A cigarette-like device for supposedly "activating the brain".
• A pillow preventing falling asleep while driving (an air compressor strapped to the cars headrest, forcibly feeding air to the driver).
• A peephole in a sheet of material, described as a "oneway visible shielding object".
• Spectacles in the shape of eyes, so that the user appears to wear no spectacles.

Starting points in relation to Nakamatsu:

• I think I have loaaads of starting points for Nakamatsu, I havent done as much research in comparison to the others, but I feel like theres a lot more information in such a short amount of research.
• could collage with all the different items he has created.
• make some images with same items, overlap, collage, mono print.