January 5, 2007
Art ringtone silences cellphones
Artist Jonathon Keats has digitally generated four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence for cellphone. His silent ringtone, freely distributed through Start Mobile, is expected to bring quiet to the lives of millions of cellphone users, as well as those close to them.
The ringtone is inspired by the silent interlude that another artist, John Cage, had tried, and failed, to create a silent interlude, back in 1952. Cage once famously composed four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence, which was performed on a piano, in front of a live audience.
"My Cage (Silence for Cellphone)" dispenses with performer and piano and auditorium, instead utilizing a continuous stream of silence produced on a computer, and compressed to standard ringtone format.
While noting that Mr. Keats doesn't have a cellphone of his own, and may be less-than-qualified to make global pronouncements about them, Start Mobile CEO John Doffing believes that "My Cage" may be a platinum hit. "People want a respite," he says, "and not everybody has the time or money to go to a spa. The virtues of silence are unsung."
Related:
-- Modtones launches a silent ringtone.
-- A Ring Tone Meant to Fall on Deaf Ears.
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