Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

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Prog DECEMBER 2024 - by Daryl Easlea

BRIAN ENO AND BETTE A - WHAT ART DOES: AN UNFINISHED THEORY

Brian Eno met Dutch artist and novelist Bette A through a 2019 network of artists and scientists that affect social change and What Art Does: An Unfinished Theory grew out of their discussions. It's a breezy, witty collection of essays and illustrations based on ideas that Eno developed throughout his working life. In times of economic strife, art is the first thing to be cut back, the authors argue, where, in theory, it should be encouraged as it offers the possibilities for the future. It suggests that even the most artless person is involved in art and creativity.

By a series of typically thought-provoking questions such as, "Why do I, for example, like one set of colours more than another? Why do I wear my hair like this but never like that? Why do I prefer oak furniture to pine?", it explores art's impact on everyday life. For those familiar with Eno's work, What Art Does: An Unfinished Theory can be viewed as an extension of the Oblique Strategies cards, his mid-'70s collaboration with artist Peter Schmidt that posited ambiguous instructions such as 'only one element of each kind' and 'emphasise differences', in much greater detail. "Thank you for thinking with us," the authors say, and that comment is what What Art Does: An Unfinished Theory in a nutshell.