4’04” is a tribute, made by Jon Meyer, to the famous piano musical piece 4’33” written in 1952 by John Cage in three movements. It was like a sonata of four minutes and thirty-three seconds during which no sound is produced intentionally. Inthis case the author shows us a blank and silent web page for a time range that is shorter than the Cage one. This time length, seen as a pure figure, assumes a very symbolic meaning in the Meyer concept, that relates to the web. In fact it is a simple and elegant joke: 404 is the code of the ‘page not found’ error, so in a way a ‘silent’ page. In either case there’s a stronger aim than the mere representation of silence. Cage once went through a new experience, entering an anechoic chamber. There he heard his heart pulsing and his blood flowing, proving that the strict silence doesn’t exist. Consequently he turned the traditional concert in a happening when the sounds produced by the bystanders and by the surrounding environment become essential musical elements altogether unpredictable. It’s the same aim pursued by Meyer, but, for practical reasons, he’s not playing with a collective experience and its consequent emotional impact. He’s, instead, referring to a listening invitation and to the daily meditative Zen practice (that was practiced by Cage also), contrasting it beside the non-human rhythms of internet working life. As Cage said: “(…)Art doesn’t have to be different from life, but an action inside life. As everything in life, with its accidents and possibilities, and diversity and mess and only momentary beauty (…)”.

Francesca Colasante