Silence is golden—at least, that’s what the proverb says. But a different kind of silence can be even more valuable and beautiful: a silence filled with the echoes of a single chord(D major)’s dying breath, as imagined in Yves Klein’s “Monotone-Silence Symphony”. The theoretical birth of the Monotone-Silence Symphony began with Klein’s work in the field of the visual arts, according to “A Sound, Then Silence (Try Not to Breathe)” by Randy Kennedy. Because of his work in the visual arts, Klein began to wonder if the images could be somehow translated into sounds. The primary assumed question: could visuals truly be translated adequately into audio? Kennedy and the people he quoted in his article seem to think so. I personally agree, but it irks me that the people quoted in the article are all completely biased in favor of the concept of the symphony.
The one thought that kept cycling through my mind while reading this article was “That’s great, but where are the people who think this piece is absolutely ridiculous?” It’s doubtful that everyone agrees this is a beautiful piece of art—people don’t agree on what art means to begin with, let alone the value of it. When it comes to articles, both sides of the story need to be presented to try to avoid taking on a slant. As a result, the article comes off as overenthusiastic, to the point where doubt begins to take over regarding the performance. In theory, the symphony sounds like experiencing it would be magnificent, especially dressed up as it is with the descriptive language Kennedy uses. But would it translate into a performance as impressive as it looks on paper? According to the overseer of Yves Klein’s archive and estate, Daniel Moquay, who has seen several performances of the symphony, it doesn’t always work—that does bring a different perspective to the execution of the piece, but not to its concept.
Though the article itself has done a poor job of providing a different perspective, I have to say that the concept of the Monotone-Silence Symphony sounds amazing: one has to only imagine the correlation between Klein’s visually monotone pieces and his theoretical translation into sound to understand how fantastic it is that one could translate visual into musical art. Klein’s Monotone-Silence Symphony uses juxtaposition between sound and silence in the same way as someone would create a visual piece in black and white to offer a glimpse into how two completely different objects can work together to create a harmonious piece that can be analyzed and admired.
However, as I brought up earlier, people generally seldom agree on art’s meaning and value to society, and there must, logically, be people who think that the concept of twenty minutes of one chord continuously playing at a very loud volume followed by twenty minutes of absolute silence is utter nonsense. They would not understand why anyone would pay money to go experience sound and silence, when sound and silence are present in everyday life. Perhaps they would have a point: sound and silence are present in everyday life. But is that art? Is that the same as walking into a manufactured piece of strategically placed sound, followed by strategically placed silence, where the audience actually participates in this strategy and must play along to achieve the desired effect of the piece? I would argue that it is not the same, because art is a manufactured manifestation, and can we truly call everyday life a manufactured manifestation?
On another note, perhaps those dissenters would even ask about how accurate these translations can be, and how colors in visual art would translate into sound; if sound and silence are black and white, then what corresponds to the rest of the spectrum? Perhaps it has to do with the level of the volume, so that it is not sound and silence but rather loudness and silence. I have a question of my own: why D major? Perhaps it corresponds to Klein’s monochrome paintings—they’re not black and white, but the same shade of blue, over and over again. Does this represent anything? Or is it just a feeling brought to life? Maybe we’ll never know.
Kennedy, Randy. “Yves Klein’s ‘Monotone-Silence’ Symphony Comes to Manhattan.” New York Times. New York Times, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
I think that this blog post is really interesting. I’d definitely want to listen to the actual audio though, because it seems like such an interesting concept. Sure the world is filled with constant noise, but are we ever really surrounded by full silence? I think it’d definitely be a different experience, seeing as our ears are always on sensory overload.
Though I agree with your question. Why the D minor key?
I was really drawn to your title, I almost expected a review of something Simon and Garfunkel related.
I feel like silence itself is art. Like you have mentioned, is there really an instance where we are in complete silence? I am leaning towards the side of no, because we constantly hear something. Even when we are sleeping, our subconscious is still aware of the noise around us which makes us wake up when it is loud. However, I find it strange how there is twenty minutes of silence in the symphony. Though they are aiming for silence, I feel like there would still be someone interrupting the silence by stirring in his or her seat. Nonetheless, I do want to experience hearing the symphony myself.
I’m really glad that you pointed out the fact that no matter how beautiful silence may be, it is still twenty minutes of sitting, listening to nothing and that should not be forgotten. The ability to stay quiet and reflect on a single chord is art, and I believe that it is beautiful. However, the reviews of the symphony give the impression that this is some sort of revolution in music when the absence of music is not actually music. I think it is interesting that you brought up the idea about the choice of the D minor chord because it is something we can all think about. This was the chord chosen to be followed by twenty minutes of silence. Why?
I love silence. There is nothing more relaxing then sitting in silence for a while and doing absolutely nothing. I would love to hear the Klein’s Monotone-Silence Symphony since twenty minutes of the same sound can be just as relaxing as twenty minutes of silence. I do believe that the art of silence and whether it can actually be translated into audio cannot be judged. There is no right or wrong to the question it can only be one’s perception and only his or her perception that counts. I believe the silence or sounds on the street can be perceived as art and can be the same as listening to strategically placed sound and silence if one believes so. The only reason why people would feel more biased towards the controlled sound and silence would be because others fealt that way or the strategic sound and silence would never have been planned out in the first place.
The use of silence in this symphony because it allows the mind to run wild in those twenty minutes of noiselessness. Although, I agree with you, that art is difficult to define in one single sentence, I think that what all the arts have in common is that they allow one’s imagination to grow. By not producing sounds at all, the symphony broadens one’s thoughts in that silence. I really want to experience this performance! Thank you for sharing!
I have the same questions as you do. How did Klein choose the D major?