thought I'd put it up regardless. Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies are a bunch of notecards with maxims on them regarding the artistic or musical process. They're designed to eliminate blocks and stalls and to reimagine the work in a new light. This rarely works for me - instead it causes me to start something drastically different than the original work but that's cool too. Eno's very big on hard work - art should be hard work, but not the creative agony and turmoil it turns into for many (including me).
You've got to buy the notecards, I believe, to see them all, but a website online has a selection of them, randomly picked whenever you reload the page. Occaisionally they are intellegible maxims - "when faced with two choices, do both" - but most are koan-like, a bit of calculated riddle absurdity to get the brain frustrated enough or inspired enough. "Change nothing and continue consistently." "Give way to your worst impulse." "Always give yourself credit for having more than personality." "Accretion." "Lost in Territory."
http://www.thraeryn.org/strategies/draw.cgi
They're really fun, actually. And a handmade deck makes a wonderful birthday gift to the aspiring soon-to-be-23 year old writer in your life. Not that I want lots of gifts (yes).
And yes, on Jan 14th, I will officially be the world's oldest man. Can we do something soon to make me feel young and alive again, like I did in my salad days of youth?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Did our chill out-sushi-bar hop-chinese food-bus stop-slumber party-ruloff's-mall/movie weekend revive your spirits, JP?
Post a Comment