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Artists›La Monte Young

La Monte Young

La Monte Young

American, 1935

WA-00030183

Mixed MediaMinimalism

Representation

None documented

0

Institutional Exhibitions

137

Works in Collection

274

Assets Indexed

4

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

70%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ432822 ULAN500081186

Field Verification (4 fields)

3 cross-verified · 1 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓
Birth yearArtsy· 85%✓
NationalityArtsy· 85%✓
LocationArtsy· 85%

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/6520
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

La Monte Young is an American composer and sound artist born in 1935 who pioneered sustained-tone minimalism and experimental music in the 1960s. His work abandons traditional harmonic progression in favor of long, continuous frequencies and microtonal intervals, often held for extended periods to expose the acoustic and perceptual dimensions of sound itself. Young's practice encompasses both notated compositions for instruments and immersive installations using sine-wave generators, establishing him as a foundational figure in postwar avant-garde music and the development of drone and minimalist aesthetics.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Minimalism

Medium

Mixed Media

Related Artists

11 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York

Canonical record

Artworks (137)

1988 · cassette

Museum of Modern Art

At Storage Loft (Jon Hendricks, La Monte Young, and Marian Zazeela in conversation)

1988 · cassette

Museum of Modern Art

1987 · Cassette tape

5/8 x 4 5/16 x 2 3/4" (1.6 x 11 x 7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

31 VII 69 10:26-10:49 PM / 23 VIII 64 2:50:45-3:11 AM The Volga Delta

31 VII 69 10:26-10:49 PM / 23 VIII 64 2:50:45-3:11 AM The Volga Delta

1969 · 12-inch vinyl record

cover: 12 1/8 × 12 1/8" (30.8 × 30.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Drift Study 4:37:40-5:09:50 5 VIII 68

1968 · Cassette tape of composition by Young, cover design and packaging by Zazeela. Composition involved five sine-wave oscillators tuned to precise rational frequency ratios, recording the drift between phase angles that occur over time

Cleveland Museum of Art

Two Propositions in Black

1968 · Young's statements (on the relationship of tuning to time) hand-written in silver on folded construction paper with calligraphic border by Zazeela

Cleveland Museum of Art

Drift Study 4:37:405:09:50 5 VIII 68 from S.M.S. No. 4

Drift Study 4:37:405:09:50 5 VIII 68 from S.M.S. No. 4

1968 · Multiple of audio tape and box

Box: 5 3/16 x 5 1/4 x 9/16" (13.2 x 13.3 x 1.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

S.M.S. No. 1

1968 · Journal with thirteen special edition projects

Various dimensions.

Museum of Modern Art

1967 · Open reel

Museum of Modern Art

1967 · Ink on cardboard box, containing ink on paper in acrylic box

Museum of Modern Art

Composition 1960 #10, performed during Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, New York, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

sheet: 6 15/16 × 4 11/16" (17.7 × 11.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Composition 1960 #2, performed during Concert No. 9, Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Fluxhall, 359 Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

sheet: 7 1/16 × 5" (18 × 12.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Composition 1960 #2, performed during Concert No. 9, Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Fluxhall, 359 Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

sheet: 7 1/16 × 5" (18 × 12.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Composition 1960 #2, performed during Concert No. 9, Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Fluxhall, 359 Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

sheet: 7 1/16 × 5" (18 × 12.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Composition 1960 #2, performed during Concert No. 9, Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Fluxhall, 359 Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

sheet: 7 1/16 × 5" (18 × 12.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Composition 1960 #2, performed during Concert No. 9, Fully Guaranteed 12 Fluxus Concerts, Fluxhall, 359 Canal Street, New York, May 9, 1964

1964 · Gelatin silver print

sheet: 7 1/16 × 5" (18 × 12.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Arabic Numeral (Any Integer) for Henry Flynt, and other simultaneous performances, performed during Festum Fluxorum/Fluxus/Musik und Antimusik/Das Instrumentale Theater, Staatliche Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf, February 2-3, 1963

Arabic Numeral (Any Integer) for Henry Flynt, and other simultaneous performances, performed during Festum Fluxorum/Fluxus/Musik und Antimusik/Das Instrumentale Theater, Staatliche Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf, February 2-3, 1963

1963 · Gelatin silver print

image and sheet: 6 15/16 x 9 7/16" (17.7 x 23.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Compositions 1961 from Fluxkit

1963 · Offset book

3 9/16 x 3 5/8" (9 x 9.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Compositions 1961 from Fluxshop

1963 · 27 offset books

overall (each): 3 1/2 x 3 5/8 x 1/8" (8.9 x 9.2 x 0.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Prototype for Compositions 1961

1963 · Typewriting and pen on paper

Museum of Modern Art

Compositions 1961

1963 · Offset book

page (each): 3 9/16 x 3 5/8" (9 x 9.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

LY 1961 (Compositions 1961)

1963 · (confirm)

3 11/16 x 3 15/16" (9.3 x 10 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Compositions 1961

Compositions 1961

1963 · Offset book

page (each): 3 9/16 x 3 5/8" (9 x 9.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

La Monte Young's Composition 1960 #10 (to Bob Morris) performed by Nam June Paik as Zen for Head during Fluxus Internationale Festspiele Neuester Musik, Städtisches Museum, Wiesbaden, September 8, 1962

1962 · Gelatin silver print

image: 6 1/4 × 9 1/2" (15.9 × 24.1 cm); sheet: 7 15/16 × 9 15/16" (20.2 × 25.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

View all 137 artworks →

Artwork sources (2)

137 published of 272 catalogued · 45 with image

MoMA
135 publishedof 270 catalogued45 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
2 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 1)

1 entries · 1 sources

Drift Study 4:37:40-5:09:50 5 VIII 68
1968 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

La Monte Young (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Relationships

2

Movements1

Collections1

Museum of Modern Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet