Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

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The Guardian JANUARY 26, 2010 - by Charlotte Higgins

ENO HELPS SOLVE THE PURPOSE OF ART

At Windsor Castle last week, an eclectic selection of thinkers and arts aristocracy, including Brian Eno, Karen Armstrong, Siobhan Davies, Armando Iannucci and Kwame Kwei-Armah, discussed this question: what is the purpose of art now? The chair was Philippe Sands QC; the event was organised by the London Centre for Arts and Cultural Exchange and arts production company Jericho House. By the time extra faces turned up for dinner (including me), the brains had decided what art is (according to Eno, it definitely includes cake-decorating), and possibly what it is for. Eno said: "An artist is a trigger, making something happen between you and the work. Art is not a property of things, it is the site of a relationship with things." To capture further conclusions, dinner conversations were recorded via mics hidden, I kid you not, in the flower arrangements.