Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Los Angeles Times AUGUST 28, 1988 - by Kevin Allman

BRIAN ENO'S 'VIDEO PAINTINGS' ADD OBSERVERS TO MEDIA MIX

As a record producer, Brian Eno has worked with U2 and Talking Heads, and as a composer he has released eleven solo albums of textured, experimental sounds, some written to be heard in specific locations (Music For Airports). He has also created more than fifty gallery shows incorporating his "ambient music" and video work. His latest production of "video paintings" has been installed at the Santa Monica Museum of Art.

Eno describes his use of television monitors and cassette players as "two familiar technologies used in unfamiliar ways." In his new work, Latest Flames, the monitors, some of which lie on their backs, are not meant to be looked into but instead project images of light and shadow into a darkened room. Acrylic plastic and cardboard structures support the screens and are washed in their shifting light. Four unsynchronised tape machines provide continually changing sound.

The artwork, requiring the viewer to be simultaneously a passive and active observer, has drawn attention from rock and New Age music fans as well as the art community.

Santa Monica Museum of Art, 2437 Main Street; (213) 451-5850; 1 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, $5, through October 16.