---
title: Brian Eno Quotes
description: Brian Eno Reveals the Hidden Purpose of All Art.
slug: brian-eno-art
<!--- authors:
  - name: David Windham
    title: Something Else
    url: https://davidawindham.com
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tags: [people, art, music]
image: https://davidawindham.com/wp-content/themes/daw/img/opengraph_image.jpg
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---

Today I learned more about Brian Eno's worldview after reading "Brian Eno Reveals the Hidden Purpose of All Art"<sub>1</sub>.

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> "The real human, to me, seems like the one who can support his neighbors and work with them. That’s a feeling that I pursue. Whenever I see it, I want to encourage it."

**Insofar as you have a public image, it’s as an extremely cerebral figure. But even just in this conversation it’s clear that emotions and feelings drive a lot of what you do. So what’s an emotion or feeling driving you right now?**  I can give you a clear example. I recently found this gospel song on YouTube<sub>2</sub>. Donald Vails is playing piano on it. Billy Preston is playing organ. They’re in a room with a mixed bunch of people with quite a range of ages. They sing this song, “You Can’t Beat God Giving.” It’s a great song, but what’s fantastic is seeing these people singing to one another. 

> "Yeah, a charisma of uncertainty would be my thing. In a way, David Byrne has that. One of the attractions of his persona is that he’s not afraid to weave in confusion: “How did I get here?<sub>2</sub>” I think he’s on a path to a kind of feasible future human. You can be amazing, but you could admit too that you’re bewildered".


**Along those lines, there’s beauty in your new album, but it’s also deeply sad. Is that an accurate reflection of how you’re feeling about the world?** There is a threat built into it — that low barking sound — but that’s because I can’t conceive of a future where there isn’t a threat.

> "I think we’re in for a hard ride for maybe half a century. Then it will either be the end of civilization or a reborn humanity with a different set of ideas about who we are and where we belong and how we must relate to things in order to survive."



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[1]: [Brian Eno Reveals the Hidden Purpose of All Art](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/14/magazine/brian-eno-interview.html) - The New York Times  
[2]: [Billy Preston - You Can't Beat Gods Giving](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tqM5GJ-tg0) - Youtube   
[3]: [Once in a Lifetime](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_in_a_Lifetime_(Talking_Heads_song)) - And you may ask yourself, How Did I get Here?