AFTER CAGE：A Visual Sonata – Animated Visual Score by TouchDesigner

A Visual Sonata
by Amy Yang (Bachelor of Design, University of Melbourne)

00:00 Introduction – A Visual Sonata
00:15 About John Cage and Sonatas and Interludes
00:32 Movement 01 – Sonata I
02:43 Movement 02 – Sonata II
04:32 Movement 03 – Sonata III
06:31 Movement 04 – Sonata IV
07:53 Movement 05 – Sonata V
09:34 Movement 06 – Sonata VI
11:36 Movement 07 – Sonata VII
13:01 Movement 08 – Sonata VIII
14:56 Movement 09 – Sonata IX
16:48 Movement 10 – Sonata X
17:55 Movement 11 – Sonata XI
19:43 Movement 12 – Sonata XII
21:05 Movement 13 – Sonata XIII
22:47 Movement 14 & 15 – Sonata XIV & XV
24:57 Movement 16 – Sonata XVI

This project visually reinterprets Sonatas and Interludes by John Cage, transforming his experimental prepared piano compositions into a series of 16 animated posters. Each animation acts as a moving score, translating sound into abstract motion, rhythm, and form — exploring how visual language can communicate the texture and emotion of music beyond traditional notation.

Created as part of the final-year studio brief “Copy of Copy”, this work investigates how translation, repetition, and reinterpretation can generate new meaning across mediums. It asks: What kinds of music—fragmented, atonal, fluid—lend themselves to visual notation? Through the interplay of sound and movement, A Visual Sonata invites viewers to listen with their eyes.

Tools: TouchDesigner, After Effects, Indesign
Sound source: Sonatas and Interludes by John Cage (1946–48)
Duration: 15 short pieces
Year: 2025