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Old 11-27-2016, 12:25 PM   #425 (permalink)
innerspaceboy
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Join Date: Feb 2015
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Default Worthwhile Dilemmas

Today I am delighted to have become the proud owner of a deck of Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt's infamous Oblique Strategies cards.



Subtitled Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas, these decks were first published in 1975 and are currently in their fifth edition. Each card offers a challenging constraint intended to help artists and musicians overcome mental blocks by encouraging lateral approaches to their creative works. The cards feature instructions such as:
  • Discover the recipes you are using and abandon them
  • Towards the insignificant
  • Give way to your worst impulse
  • Tape your mouth
  • Do something boring
  • Make a blank valuable by putting it in an exquisite frame
  • Work at a different speed


Personal photo of my newly-received deck

The letterpress printed cards are housed in a black box with gold reflective lettering. There was also a limited edition of 500 boxes in burgundy rather than black issued in 2013.

While early editions command hundreds or even thousands of dollars on eBay, (there are at present two autographed first edition decks listed for $2,499.00 and $3,299.00 respectively), I was very pleased to find decks of the latest edition available from www.enoshop.co.uk for about $46 including shipping to the United States. It really is a small price to pay for such an influential and inspirational cultural artifact.


Autographed and numbered first edition deck from 1975 currently for sale on eBay


Brian Eno has been one of the most instrumental figures in my creative development. I've been following his visual works, his music, multimedia installation pieces, and his philosophy for the entirety of my adult life. In 2009, I created an infographic of his work as a writer, artist, and producer titled, Enography (The Grand Unified Theory of Contemporary Music). It really is a privilege to finally have claimed one of these decks for my own.

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