Brian Eno is a famous musician, record producer, and visual artist, known for his collaborations with groups like U2, Roxy Music, and Talking Heads, and as the pioneering figure in what is now called ambient music, a term he coined.
His approach in What Art Does, subtitled An Unfinished Theory and with art and design by Bette A., is methodical and pragmatic. The nine chapters take on subjects like 'Feelings,' “Fictional Worlds,' and 'How does art change me?' Eno suggests that art is the creation and exploration of made-up worlds.
Art begins with the imaginative play of children. In Eno's view, play is where we start to figure out what we like and how we feel about things. Art is simply how play continues into adulthood.
Many have thought of art as containers of meaning, which is put into the work of art by the artist and transmitted out to the viewer. But, as Eno writes, 'there is another view, that an art object doesn't have any intrinsic meaning, but is actually a trigger, a way of causing something to happen in your mind.' One of those things, of course, is feelings. Eno goes so far as to say that 'art is a way of making feelings happen.'
Another important aspect of art is how it creates a sense of community. Art can be, to once again quote Eno, 'the lifeblood, the lubricant, the circulatory system of community.' Civilization, he says, 'is shared imagination.'
Art can also provide a path for cultural dialogue and even change. We can examine alternative realities without real-world consequences by experiencing them through the world of art and seeing how we feel about it all. In one of his closing thoughts, Eno sums up: 'in whatever we are doing, we have to make it as though we are in that new world. By making objects, systems, experiences, and collaborations that belong to that world, it comes into being. Live the world you want.'
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Support for 'Arts on the Airwaves' comes from The Nevada Arts Council… a state agency that provides public funding and support to artists and organizations, that benefit Nevadans in cities and rural communities statewide. More at NVArtsCouncil.org.
