A dictionary of Marshall McLuhan’s quotations

It’s the same way with music. Melody has given place to the new rock forms. Instead of the tune which goes on and on, we simply have the broken and fragmented harmonics and juxtapositions of rhythm—abstract music. Abstract art or abstract music is art in which we pull out the connections. I understand that you’re going to have a sculpture by Picasso on this campus. Abstract sculpture or abstract art is an art in which there is no visual component. All you have is the acoustic, tactile, kinetic form.
“Living in an Acoustic World,” Public Lecture at the University of South Florida (1970), in “Marshall McLuhan Speaks” transcript, pp 4-5
Year: 1970
Chapter: Music
Compiled by William Kuhns
© 2026, The Estate of Marshall McLuhan