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Pierre Huyghe's Silence Score turns absence into composition. Drawing from a 1952 recording of the ambient sounds surrounding John Cage's 4'33", a minimalist composition of silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, the piece relies on ambient sound in whichever space it is performed rather than a musician 'playing' it. Huyghe transcribes the ‘non-music' – coughs, rustles, distant weather – into the score for a performance. In doing so, he gives centre stage to what is usually ignored, what happens in the background. Known for creating living, unpredictable systems, such as introducing animals, plants or atmospheric elements, Huyghe treats silence as an active space. Here, gaps become meaningful, and what slips through becomes a source of possibility.
The Roberts Institute of Art
London
Title
Silence Score
Date
1997
Medium
set of four inkjet prints; score with handwritten annotations in coloured pencil
Measurements
H 49 x W 37 cm
Accession number
HUPI-2008-01
