77 Million Paintings By Brian Eno [DVD]

First, let's get this straight - this is a software DVD, with a second disc containing an interview with Brian Eno. You cannot view "77 Million Paintings" by putting it in your DVD player. The product description is a little unclear on this. When you load the disc into your computer you are given instructions on how to copy it to the hard drive (not complicated, though you will need a reasonably modern computer, and the software takes up over a gigabyte of HD space). When you run the program it goes into Full Screen mode, and you are offered options on how fast you want the transitions to run, and whether you have music with it or not. The visuals are enjoyable, in a slightly 1960s "liquid light show" style: abstract patterns, blobs of colour, what look illustrations from old books, all merging into one another in a random way. There usually seem to be at least three images up on screen at once - certain images recur every now and then, but the "77 Million" thing seems to be about the different combinations you can have, not the number of images. It's all very peaceful and relaxing, and I have put it on my MacBook at work for times when I'm doing paperwork - it's more interesting than most screensavers, and is constantly changing.
The soundtrack is also a randomly generated collage of sounds, although to my ears it is not as interesting as the visuals - it consists of clangs, boinks, and creepy vocoder vocal samples, and is not particularly melodic. In short, "Music For Airports" it ain't. I have actually found it better to switch off the soundtrack and play something else in iTunes.
What's it for? Well, I suppose it makes a nice conversation piece, just ticking over in the corner (and it does look great on a large screen). If you want a piece of installation art in your own home you should buy this. It doesn't actively demand your attention, but is attractive to glance at every now and then. I'm a big fan of Eno, so I had to have this, alongside a large collection of his ambient music, and his early rock experiments.
It comes in an attractive hardback book package, with an illustrated essay on how Eno came to produce this particular installation.
My only criticism is that it ought to be possible to offer upgrades to the software over the internet - improve the soundtrack for a start!

Update: October 2012. A word of warning. This software was written to work on Macs running with early versions of OS X - if you update to OS 10.8 (Mountain Lion) the software will not run and you will have wasted your money. This is ironic, as Eno is known to use Macs in his work, and has been featured on the Apple website on more than one occasion. He is guilty of creating a product with built-in obsolescence. A shame, as I still think it was a good idea, but is now unplayable on a modern computer.

This is a wonderful and beautiful experience, that can be returned to again and again. And each time it is different. Just load up the software and then turn on and watch it. You cannot control it except on/off and the speed in which the images change (slow or very very slow), but the effect is beguiling, just like all of Eno's best work, such as his '14 Video Paintings', 'Music for Airports' and 'The Drop'. Indeed it is the sheer randomness that creates this sense of calm, But there are no sudden disjunctures, but the combination of images surprises. Eno has the ability to challenge us whilst he calms us, to see things differently even as we are never jarred, never shocked.

In the few days since I bought this I have already spent hours just looking at, sometimes with Eno's audio track and other times with other music - try it with Scelsi or Mompou.

this piece of work is well worth getting hold off - eno's work is always a pleasure to behold and this is no exception. in terms of his approach with the piece - a translation of multi-screen installation on a single screen medium - he is clearly hitting the right buttons as quality flatscreens are now becoming ubiquitous.

however, if you put the work against current trends in generative work it can seem just little bit flat or just 20 years out - whether that's because the audio visual scapes that eno has been creating for the past 20 years have been simply been ahead of their time - or that this is someone who is plugging the same AV spectrum with little progress - you will need to make your own mind up!

personally i like it - i appreciate the analog approach of the visual work rather than adopting the latest visual fads (ie 3D - flash vector)and the warmth of those 80's ambient rumblings envelop the room so well!