I often work by avoidance. Brian Eno More Quotes by Brian Eno More Quotes From Brian Eno Everybody thinks that when new technologies come along that they're transparent and you can just do your job well on it. But technologies always import a whole new set of values with them. Brian Eno technologyjobsthinking There are certain sounds that I've found work well in nearly any context. Their function is not so much musical as spatial: they define the edges of the territory of the music. Brian Eno territorymusicalsound I describe things in terms of body movements. I dance a bit to describe what sort of movement it ought to make, and that's a good way of talking to musicians. Particularly bass players. Brian Eno danceplayertalking I'm struck by the insidious, computer-driven tendency to take things out of the domain of muscular activity and put them into the domain of mental activity. Brian Eno drivencomputertechnology People in the arts often want to aim for the biggest, most obvious target, and hit it smack in the bull’s eye. Brian Eno arrowseyeart Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences... That solves a lot of problems ... Art is something that happens, a process, not a quality, and all sorts of things can make it happen ... [W]hat makes a work of art 'good' for you is not something that is already 'inside' it, but something that happens inside you. Brian Eno qualityartthinking Not many people bought Velvet Underground LPs, but those who did, started a band. Brian Eno velvet-undergroundvelvetpeople Emotion creates reality, reality demands action. Brian Eno demandactionreality What people call unemotional just doesnt have a single overriding emotion to it. The things that I like best are the ones that ambiguous on the emotional level. Brian Eno levelsemotionalpeople I hate the rock music tradition. I can't bear it! Brian Eno rockshatebears I set up situations that involve abandoning control and finding out what happens. Brian Eno findingssituationhappens The great benefit of computer sequencers is that they remove the issue of skill, and replace it with the issue of judgement Brian Eno issuesjudgementskills The whole point of art, as far as I’m concerned, is that art doesn’t make any difference. And that’s why it’s important. Take film: you can have quite extreme emotional experiences watching a movie, but they stop as soon as you walk out of the cinema. You can see people being hurt, but even though you feel those things strongly, you know they’re not real. Brian Eno realhurtart All music has political dimensions because it suggests a way of being. Brian Eno dimensionspoliticalway Everything good proceeds from enthusiasm. Brian Eno enthusiasm Composition is a way of living out your philosophy and calling it art. Brian Eno callingphilosophyart Think inside the work - outside the work Brian Eno thinking Instead of shooting arrows at someone elses target, which Ive never been very good at, I make my own target around wherever my arrow happens to have landed. You shoot your arrow and then you paint your bulls eye around it, and therefore you have hit the target dead centre. Brian Eno arrowstargeteye If you want to make someone feel emotion, you have to make them let go. Listening to something is an act of surrender. Brian Eno listeningwantletting-go Feelings are more dangerous than ideas, because they aren't susceptible to rational evaluation. They grow quietly, spreading underground, and erupt suddenly, all over the place. Brian Eno evaluationfeelingsideas
