River Rocks and Smoke, 1990

Though known primarily for music composition, Cage began a visual art practice influenced by Eastern philosophies later in life. He employed “chance operations,” a decision-making method he adapted from the ancient Chinese divination text I Ching to avoid imposing structure and exercising intention in his art. To create River Rocks and Smoke, Cage used a feather to paint around stones placed on paper; importantly, the number and size of stones, combination of paint colors, and choice of feather were determined by the I Ching. He also exposed the paper to an open fire, which deposited soot on its surface, producing an image that captures the element’s destructive and ephemeral nature, which had fascinated Cage all his life.