John's Cage #3: Delusions of Youth Print

The impetus for this project was the convergence of three streams of thought as I played with multiple exposure photography through 2021. Experimenting with various techniques, I noted how much like jazz it seemed to be. There’s an improvisational quality to it, yet also a structure and intent. Results are not entirely random, yet they cannot be predicted. Thoughts of the composer John Cage crept into my mind, as the element of chance and notions of aleatoric music seemed a more apt relationship than jazz. Once John Cage was in the picture, it was a short trip to remember my father, John, in the last years of his life, as he was increasingly imprisoned in the cage of Parkinson’s Disease. Early on was the shakiness, then the delusions, and finally a release, and crossing into whatever is next. A man of faith throughout much of his life, a cross-like symbol seemed a fitting end to the series.