Addressing a packed house at the British Library, London, last night, he said that the blanket term ‘creative industries’ should be revisited, explored and expanded.
‘We need to rethink how we talk about culture,' he said. 'Rethink what we think it does for us and what it actually is. We have a complete confusion about that.’
The ambient music pioneer went on to explain that while scientists are unanimous in their understanding of the role of science in society, those working within the cultural sphere find it harder to agree a common definition for what they do.
‘Here we all are, engaged in the creative industries, but at the centre of this is a subject that none of us really have a very clear idea about. What are we doing when we make art and what are we doing when we consume it?’
The award-winning sonic and visual artist explained that, far from being helpful, the term ‘creative industries’ could in fact impair the true importance of art in society.
‘I sort of understand why [the term] is used. People in the creative arts are always desperate to get a little bit of money from government. Apparently the way of convincing them is by telling them you’re an industry… [because] that means you’re part of the economic framework and everything you do can ultimately be expressed as a single number, like your contribution to GNP or the number of jobs you provide or the number of number ones you’ve had.
‘It’s the beginning of the end of the arts if we start to try to make things expressible in single numbers. We also start to think that the things which can’t be evaluated in that way aren’t worth anything,’ he added.
Analysing the deeper role of culture and art, he said they provide a way for society to remain ‘in sync’ as the world rapidly evolves around us.
Comparing modern life with the past, he said there’s now more change in a single month than the whole of the 14th century – and culture is a cohesive tool that can help us make sense of it.
‘We live in a culture that is changing so incredibly quickly… so we have to somehow come to terms with all of that. None of us have the same experiences… none of us are expert on everything that’s happening.
‘So we need ways of keeping in sync, of remaining coherent. And I think this is what culture is doing for us. I’m starting now to propose the idea of culture as a sort of collective ritual, or a set of collective rituals, that we’re all engaged with.
‘I think that the problem about the GNP argument is that, okay, it’s nice to know that we’ve all contributed £28bn to the Gross National Product last year. But it isn’t the most important thing. The most important thing is that we have been altogether – that doesn’t mean just the artists, so called, it means everyone, it means all the people actually in the community, everybody – has been generating this huge, fantastic conversation which we call culture. And which somehow keeps us coherent, keeps us together.’
He went on to explain that while a genius is the talent of an individual, a ‘scenius’ is the talent of a whole community. Pointing to pivotal moments in history, he said that British pop culture, in various times, has been a 'scenius' where talents and opportunities came together spontaneously.
‘[At those times, you] get something that is actually an ecosystem. With ecosystems it’s impossible to tell what the important parts are. It’s not a hierarchy. We’re used to thinking of things that are arranged in levels, with the important things at the top and the less important things at the bottom. Ecosystems aren’t like that. They’re richly interconnected and they’re co-dependent in many, many ways.’
Talking about his own experiences, Eno said he has benefitted greatly from the ‘social engineering’ set up to address imbalances in society, such as his scholarship to a grammar school, his free art school education, and his period claiming unemployment benefit, all of which gave him the breathing space to create.
'These things are all important in a way because they were all institutions that had been set in place a long time ago by people who had some sort of idealistic notion of social engineering,' he explained.
To hear the lecture in full, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06dcmxl
The 2015 BBC Music John Peel Lecture took place at the British Library as a part of the Radio Festival 2015 organised by the Radio Academy. It was broadcast live on BBC Radio 6 Music and will be transmitted on Friday 2 October on BBC Four at 11pm.
Eno was the fifth high profile speaker to deliver the John Peel Lecture since 2011 as a part of the Radio Festival. Past speakers have included The Who’s Pete Townshend (2011), Billy Bragg (2012), Charlotte Church (2013) and Iggy Pop (2014).
‘We need to rethink how we talk about culture,' he said. 'Rethink what we think it does for us and what it actually is. We have a complete confusion about that.’
The ambient music pioneer went on to explain that while scientists are unanimous in their understanding of the role of science in society, those working within the cultural sphere find it harder to agree a common definition for what they do.
‘Here we all are, engaged in the creative industries, but at the centre of this is a subject that none of us really have a very clear idea about. What are we doing when we make art and what are we doing when we consume it?’
The award-winning sonic and visual artist explained that, far from being helpful, the term ‘creative industries’ could in fact impair the true importance of art in society.
‘I sort of understand why [the term] is used. People in the creative arts are always desperate to get a little bit of money from government. Apparently the way of convincing them is by telling them you’re an industry… [because] that means you’re part of the economic framework and everything you do can ultimately be expressed as a single number, like your contribution to GNP or the number of jobs you provide or the number of number ones you’ve had.
‘It’s the beginning of the end of the arts if we start to try to make things expressible in single numbers. We also start to think that the things which can’t be evaluated in that way aren’t worth anything,’ he added.
Analysing the deeper role of culture and art, he said they provide a way for society to remain ‘in sync’ as the world rapidly evolves around us.
Comparing modern life with the past, he said there’s now more change in a single month than the whole of the 14th century – and culture is a cohesive tool that can help us make sense of it.
‘We live in a culture that is changing so incredibly quickly… so we have to somehow come to terms with all of that. None of us have the same experiences… none of us are expert on everything that’s happening.
‘So we need ways of keeping in sync, of remaining coherent. And I think this is what culture is doing for us. I’m starting now to propose the idea of culture as a sort of collective ritual, or a set of collective rituals, that we’re all engaged with.
‘I think that the problem about the GNP argument is that, okay, it’s nice to know that we’ve all contributed £28bn to the Gross National Product last year. But it isn’t the most important thing. The most important thing is that we have been altogether – that doesn’t mean just the artists, so called, it means everyone, it means all the people actually in the community, everybody – has been generating this huge, fantastic conversation which we call culture. And which somehow keeps us coherent, keeps us together.’
He went on to explain that while a genius is the talent of an individual, a ‘scenius’ is the talent of a whole community. Pointing to pivotal moments in history, he said that British pop culture, in various times, has been a 'scenius' where talents and opportunities came together spontaneously.
‘[At those times, you] get something that is actually an ecosystem. With ecosystems it’s impossible to tell what the important parts are. It’s not a hierarchy. We’re used to thinking of things that are arranged in levels, with the important things at the top and the less important things at the bottom. Ecosystems aren’t like that. They’re richly interconnected and they’re co-dependent in many, many ways.’
Talking about his own experiences, Eno said he has benefitted greatly from the ‘social engineering’ set up to address imbalances in society, such as his scholarship to a grammar school, his free art school education, and his period claiming unemployment benefit, all of which gave him the breathing space to create.
'These things are all important in a way because they were all institutions that had been set in place a long time ago by people who had some sort of idealistic notion of social engineering,' he explained.
To hear the lecture in full, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06dcmxl
The 2015 BBC Music John Peel Lecture took place at the British Library as a part of the Radio Festival 2015 organised by the Radio Academy. It was broadcast live on BBC Radio 6 Music and will be transmitted on Friday 2 October on BBC Four at 11pm.
Eno was the fifth high profile speaker to deliver the John Peel Lecture since 2011 as a part of the Radio Festival. Past speakers have included The Who’s Pete Townshend (2011), Billy Bragg (2012), Charlotte Church (2013) and Iggy Pop (2014).
