schweigen. the german word for saying nothing, rather expressing the action of being silent by saying nothing. we understand an idea like the silence of the art in a much deeper way by translating it into german. das schweigen der kunst is also das schweigen des künstlers, the action of being silent by the artist, the creator… thus: mankind.
understanding this silence, this non-speaking, non-sounding as an action also means to presume that each moment and each aspect of the world has its sound - and that the silence means an active change of this state. followed by the insight, that this silence, this consciously man-made silence is a message.
for to give an example for the use of the words schweigen und silence just feel the difference of the title of a rather well-known movie in english and in german: feel the silence of the lambs versus das schweigen der lämmer. the english term describes a state while the german version evokes an action.
