Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Brian Eno exercises the Obliques

On the topic of creative/ generative thinking..

Back in 1996, Brian Eno (musician/producer affiliated with the ranks of U2, David Bowie, Roxy Music, ambient music, etc) with artist Peter Schmidt created a deck of instructional cards designed to disrupt conditioned thought processes and spark creativity through ' Oblique Strategies'. Apparently they are modeled after the classic Chinese text, I-Ching (Book of Changes) used for geomancy, philosophy, predict the future, and to turn to for inspiration.

This article describes the cards in use for busting 'chef's block', to escape the mundane routine of same old kitchen concoctions, which makes it easy to understand how the card's anecdotes are applicable to any creative endeavor. Wonder how well they inspire?

You can also refer to the Oblique Strategies website, but it's rather loooooong and something about the yellow font and black background makes me feel aggitated and aggressive, like a swarm of bees are ferrociously chasing me.

The article:
http://www.gourmet.com/food/2009/06/brian-eno-oblique-strategies-recipes

Oblique Strategy Web:
http://www.rtqe.net/ObliqueStrategies/OSintro.html

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