Oblique Strategies: One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas
Artist
Brian Eno
(English, b. 1948)
Artist
Peter Schmidt
(English (born Germany), 1931 - 1980)
CultureEnglish
Date1996
MediumPaper cards in box
DimensionsOverall: 3 x 4 1/8 x 5 in. (7.6 x 10.5 x 12.7 cm)
InscribedSet of Cards, English text only:;
WHERE IS THE EDGE?;
Repetition is a form of change;
decorate, decorate;
Use an old idea;
Once the search has begun, something will be found;
Is the style right?;
A line has two sides;
What is the simplest solution?;
Always the first steps;
Is something missing?;
don't avoid what is easy;
Be less critical;
VOICE YOUR SUSPICIONS;
Breathe more deeply;
Is it finished?;
Emphasize differences [Verso text: Snowflakes, ©1995 Gary Allen Smith / mail me your comments @ screen name "Gary Allen" / may use these images free for non-commercial purposes only];
Change nothing and continue consistently;
Do the words need changing? [Verso text: lover come back];
HOW WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IT?;
Simple subtraction [Verso: simple subtraction mirror image];
Just carry on;
Be extravagant;
Do something sudden, destructive and unpredictable;
How would someone else do it?;
Reverse;
State the problem as clearly as possible;
Do the last thing first;
Find a safe part and use it as an anchor [Verso: Use a part that is safe as an anchor];
Take a break;
WATER;
Remember quiet evenings;
Bridges -build -burn;
Openly resist change;
Question the heroic;
Work at a different speed [Verso: usa];
CHANGE SPECIFICS INTO AMBIGUITIES [Verso: ROTTERDAM];
Your mistake was a hidden intention;
Don't break the silence;
Retrace your steps;
Emphasize the flaws;
GO TO AN EXTREME; COME PART WAY BACK [Verso: Winter];
Discard an axiom [Verso: fall];
Distort time [Verso: Bake];
Use clichés [Verso: summer];
BE DIRTY;
Take away the important parts [Verso: alphabet, 0-9 digits and keyboard symbols];
Make what's perfect more human [under the recto text, the graphically shown word "soft", on verso: bun];
Would anyone want it? [Verso: Pae White];
Only a part, not the whole;
USE FILTERS;
Display your talent;
Make it more sensual;
What context would look right?;
Look at the order in which you do things;
What mistakes did you make last time?;
When is it for? [Verso: Wilhelm];
What would your closest friend do? [Verso: Subscribe];
What to increase?;
What to reduce?;
What to maintain?;
Faced with a choice, do both* (on side, vertically: from Diter Rot);
Do nothing for as long as possible;
Which parts can be grouped?;
Don't stress one thing more than another;
Only one element of each kind;
Not building a wall; making a brick [Verso: number 5 with circle surround];
In total darkness or in a very large room, very quietly;
What wouldn't you do?;
Do something boring;
Disciplined self-indulgence;
Go outside; shut the door;
Use "unqualified" people (at bottom of recto: BERTLOTBERTOLT) [Verso: BRECHT];
The inconsistency principle;
Think - inside the work - outside the work;
Ask your body;
Listen to the quiet voice;
Destroy nothing; destroy the most important thing;
Discover your formulas and abandon them;
Remove a restriction;
Turn it upside down;
Tidy up;
Consider transitions;
Move toward the unimportant;
Use something nearby as a model;
It is simply a matter of work;
Try faking it * (text below: * from Stuart Brand);
Adding on;
Slow preparation, fast execution;
Give way to your worst impulse;
The most easily forgotten thing is the most important;
ACCEPT ADVICE [Verso: TOKYO];
Magnify the most difficult details;
What were you really thinking about just now?;
Use your own ideas;
abandon desire;
Abandon normal instructions;
Give the game away;
Courage!;
Cut a vital connection;
CHANGE AMBIGUITIES INTO SPECIFICS
Credit LineSent by the Norton Family to Robert Frankel for Christmas, December 1996
Object number96.32
Not on view
ProvenanceCommissioned by Peter Norton Family and given as a gift to Robert Frankel, Chrysler Museum director in 1996.
Pair/Pair
