Contents • • • • • • • Origin and history [ ] In 1970, created 'The Thoughts Behind the Thoughts', a box containing 55 sentences letterpress printed onto disused prints that accumulated in his studio, which is still in the possession of Eno. Eno, who had known Schmidt since the late 1960s, had been pursuing a similar project himself (which he had handwritten onto a number of bamboo cards and given the name 'Oblique Strategies' in 1974).

Oblique Strategies: Brian Eno’s Prompts for Overcoming Creative Block, Inspired by John Cage “If a thing can be said, it can be said simply.” By Maria Popova. In 1996, Eno revised and rewrote the deck of one hundred cards, which were edited by Norton and translated into Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, Russian, and Arabic. Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt, Oblique Strategies. One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas, 1996. Graphic Arts Collection 2013- in process. “These cards evolved from our separate working procedures.

There was a significant overlap between the two projects, and so, in late 1974, Schmidt and Eno combined them into a single pack of cards and offered them for general sale. The set went through three limited edition printings before Schmidt suddenly died in early 1980, after which the card decks became rather rare and expensive. Sixteen years later software pioneer convinced Eno to let him create a fourth edition as Christmas gifts for his friends (not for sale, although they occasionally come up at auction). Eno's decision to revisit the cards and his collaboration with Norton in revising them is described in detail in his 1996 book. With public interest in the cards undiminished, in 2001 Eno once again produced a new set of Oblique Strategies cards. The number and content of the cards vary according to the edition. In May 2013 a of 500 boxes, in burgundy rather than black, was issued.

The story of Oblique Strategies, along with the content of all the cards, exhaustive history and commentary, is documented in a website widely acknowledged as the authoritative source and put together by musician and educator Gregory Alan Taylor. The text of Schmidt's 'The Thoughts Behind the Thoughts' was published by Mindmade Books in 2012. Design and use [ ] Each card contains a gnomic suggestion or remark which can be used to break a deadlock or dilemma situation.

A few are specific to music composition; others are more general. For example: • Use an old idea. • State the problem in words as clearly as possible. • Only one element of each kind. • What would your closest friend do? • What to increase? What to reduce?

• Are there sections? Arnold Modellbahn Katalog Pdf Printer there. Consider transitions. • Try faking it! • Honour thy error as a hidden intention. • Ask your body.

• Work at a different speed. From the introduction to the 2001 edition: These cards evolved from separate observations of the principles underlying what we were doing. Sometimes they were recognised in retrospect (intellect catching up with intuition), sometimes they were identified as they were happening, sometimes they were formulated. They can be used as a pack, or by drawing a single card from the shuffled pack when a dilemma occurs in a working situation. In this case the card is trusted even if its appropriateness is quite unclear.

Cultural impact [ ] References to Oblique Strategies exist in popular culture, notably in the film, in which a character offers passers-by cards from a deck. Strategies mentioned include 'Honor thy error as a hidden intention', 'Look closely at the most embarrassing details and amplify', 'Not building a wall; making a brick', 'Repetition is a form of change', and one which came to be seen as a summary of the film's ethos (though it was not part of the official set of Oblique Strategies), 'Withdrawing in disgust is not the same thing as apathy.' This line was quoted in the 1994 song ' by, who also mentioned Oblique Strategies in their 1998 song 'Diminished' from the album. The Oblique Strategies are also referenced in comic 1018, 'Oblique Angles', of popular web comic. Windows 7 Printer Drivers Epson C600 there. Other musicians inspired by Oblique Strategies include the British band, said to have used the cards when recording their 2008 -produced album and French band, who used the cards when recording their 2009 album. German musician/composer has a similar navigation system, called Dave.