Book Review — what art does: an unfinished theory

It’s been eight months since my last book review. Which would seem to suggest I’ve either read nothing, or have not read anything worth reviewing since February this year.

For the record, neither’s the case! I guess you can say life just has a way of interrupting us. (Or maybe it’s just me that gets interrupted from reviewing?)

But I’m back now, in hopes to review and recommend more books in near-future posts (rather than wait another eight months!).

Starting with this, my latest book review.

It’s on a topic that’s very close to my heart. Ever since I began to earnestly explore literary writing in long-form with the launch of this blog.

Book In Review — what art does: an unfinished theory

I first learned about this book through a recent podcast episode I heard on The Ezra Klein Show where author Brian Eno was the guest.

According to Wikipedia, Brian Peter George Eno’s an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. In short, a multi-hyphenate! His list of accolades looks like it’s his own Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which, by the way, he was inducted into six years ago as a member of the famous 1970s British rock band Roxy Music).

He’s arguably the inventor of what we’ve come to know as ambient music. That’s the kind you typically hear as some inane background atmospheric piece of sound that seems to go nowhere. It pretty much stays in one place until it ends (or it could go on and on). He’s also collaborated as a record producer with music icons like Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, and Talking Heads. Even the music that you hear when you turn on Microsoft Windows 95 was Eno’s brainchild!

But I’m not here to review his music career. Too mammoth a task, and clearly out of my league!

What I am here to do is to review and recommend (most highly) a recent book he wrote (with illustrations by Dutch artist Bettie Adriaanse). This teeny tiny book was published just last year by UK publishing house Faber & Faber Ltd.

How teeny? As you can see in the picture above, the entire book barely covered the size of my palm. And yes, if you must ask, I have very unmanly, petite hands.

How tiny? The book (all 122 pages) can be read easily in under an (uninterrupted) hour.

The premise of the book? To unpack for readers the answer to a very simple but important question that’s immediately obvious (since it’s embedded in the book’s very title)…

…What Is The Point Of Art?

For as long as I can remember, the impression about art infused into me and my peers in all our years growing up is this: it is a pastime, a hobby, a nice-to-have. It is not something we should take seriously or has significant consequences that’s quantifiable, calculable, measurable or valuable (in strictly monetary terms). The most consistent message we get is that anyone who wishes to make a decent living should avoid a career in the arts no matter what.

It’s true few folks who make a living in the arts are found among the world’s rich and well-heeled. But this consistent message is both unkind and wholly inaccurate as it suggests that artists are doomed to destitution and despair. It ignores the reality that many artists in the world do make enough to subsist. Some even better than the likes of accountants and scientists.

This message only shows how few understand the purpose of art in the lives of humans throughout the centuries.

Eno attempts admirably to address this gap in our understanding.

And I love him for doing that! Because I’ve always believed in the power of art (be it literary, visual, motion, auditory, performative or theatrical), but lack the words to explain why. An irony that’s not lost on me, being a writer and all!

Among Many Things, Art Offers Fiction Feeling

Of the many quips you will find in this delightful book, the few that stood out for me were the following:
– art is a way of making feelings happen
– art is a simulator
– art (produces) fiction feelings

That last one in particular literally took my breath away when I first read it! What was Eno saying? What’s the point of fiction feelings? I’ll let him explain it to you himself (below an extract from his book, page 38):

______________________________

Fiction feelings alert you to the range of feelings you are capable of having. They enrich your feelings repertoire. They tell you something about other possible worlds. Worlds you might want to be in, and those you might want to avoid.

They tell you those things in advance of (you) ever encountering them…so you have a repertoire of feelings about ‘fictional worlds’ in your mind. And in these fictional worlds you are allowed to take the consequences as seriously and non-seriously as you want.

______________________________

Eno is telling us that art in any form is an attempt to create make-believe scenarios we may never encounter in real life, but will nevertheless create feelings in us that will, should these scenarios actually happen, help us recognise them. It’s like (in my own clumsy words) “having the experience without actually having it.”

By having these vicarious experiences, we build up our empathy quotient and ability to connect with one another across humanity. It’s how genuine communities can happen, which is something Eno also mentions is a wonderful outcome when we embrace the power and purpose of art in our lives.

Which brings me to why I said at the start of this post that this topic (what art does) is one that’s close to my heart.

My Blog. My Art.

For the longest time I’ve struggled to believe in my art. To believe that creating content in long-form matters. Especially in a world that now gets their content almost exclusively in eight second (or less) video clips on Insta or TikTok. Or whatever new-fangled platform will be the next shiny object of desire among screen-possessed folks.

Even more distressing is the fact that I often buy into modern society’s insistence to take away what’s beautiful and true about art. To instead focus on pragmatic daily stuff like food, clothing, shelter. And once we have those, to get better and better food, clothing, shelter.

Many is the time when I draft my art, that I can also hear voices in my head while doing so. Voices that accuse me of whittling precious time that could be better spent productively, economically and functionally. Whether it’s exercise, household chores, making money, eating, traveling; there’s always something ‘better’ to do.

Thanks to Eno and his little book, my faith has been restored. I now have reasons like fiction feelings to stop me from submitting to these unhelpful voices each time I type my lines or ruminate in my head what to create.

Art is ultimately what adults play, just as play is how children learn. So in art, we get to learn. In art we get to share dreams. Create communities. Create worlds. Make meaning.

Are you a creator? An artist? If so, and if (like me) you hear voices in your head trying to keep you away from your art, then get a copy of Eno’s book. Keep it right beside you to remind yourself (and those pesky voices) that art matters.

Your art matters.

And this world will be the more beautiful and better for it.