For Eyes That Listen

The publication accompanying the group exhibition For Eyes That Listen opens with an essay by Melih Fereli, Arter’s Founding Director and the curator of the exhibition, which takes its reference from John Cage’s experimental approach that combines the use of silence with aleatory music alongside indeterminacy in his art. The book also includes a text by composer Gordon Mumma, the recipient of the 2019 SEAMUS Award for his contributions to electro-acoustic music, along with an essay on the concept of “found sound” by Hasan Cem Çal and Furkan Keçeli, and a selection of short stories from John Cage’s books titled Silence (1961) and A Year From Monday (1963). Designed by Vahit Tuna, the publication also features reproduction shots and exhibition views taken by Hadiye Cangökçe and flufoto (Barış Aras and Elif Çakırlar). Drawn from the Arter Collection, the group exhibition For Eyes That Listen brings together 23 works, many of which have a strong musical connection. Following Cage’s assertion that there is “no absolute silence”, the exhibition aims to create a meditative pendulum between the real and the imaginary through the juxtaposition in its selection and exhibit of few works featuring sound with those having none at all.