NIC
NOTHING

Summary/Abstract: The article summarizes “4’33’’” (1952) by John Cage and “Zen for Film” (1964) by Nam June Paik –two groundbreaking works of the American avant-garde. Andrzej Pitrus tries to capture the kind of dialogue established between the two artists who introduced into their artistic language aleatoric elements. The author also discusses issues related to the reference to a “significant void”, and this – in the tradition of Zen – is a kind of space where the listener and the viewer may build their own senses and realise the experience of perception. Both works do not impose anything on the viewer – Zen is just a suggestion. The artists do not propose any closed interpretation, and are satisfied by a specifically understood artistic koan. Their works contain NOTHING, yet they trigger an endless string of associations, and are sure to inspire interpreters for a long time to come.

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