Download From one of the greatest musicians, artists and thinkers of our time

From one of the greatest musicians, artists and thinkers of our time…
77 Million Paintings by Brian Eno opens at Glenbow Museum
Calgary, AB (January 5, 2011) – Glenbow Museum is thrilled to present the Western Canadian premiere
of 77 Million Paintings by Brian Eno, which runs January 6 to March 20, 2011.
Brian Eno may be best known as a musician and composer – from his groundbreaking experimental
music recordings of the last three decades to his production work for bands such as U2, Coldplay and
Talking Heads. But Eno also inhabits the art world's cutting edge, creating immersive installations mixing
light and sound for galleries and museums in the United States, Asia and Europe.
Conceived as "visual music," 77 Million Paintings is a constantly evolving sound and imagescape which
continues Eno’s exploration into light as an artist's medium and the aesthetic possibilities of "generative
software." Eno first created 77 Million Paintings to bring art to the increasing number of flat panel TVs
and monitors that often sit darkened and underutilized in our homes and offices.
Both the music and the visuals in 77 Million Paintings are "generative" – a technique where the artist
has no control over the final outcome. Eno developed special software to display images as randomly
overlapping, constantly moving patterns of colour and light. Then, he lets a computer arrange the pieces
and randomize the parameters for the artwork to exist within. What both the artist and audience see is
completely new each time.
To accompany the visuals, Eno wrote music for an evolving ambient track. The track is assembled like
the paintings — layers of sound interwoven to create a complete piece that rarely repeats itself.
77 Million Paintings has been shown in large installations all over the world, from a former church in
Brighton, England, to the sails of the Sydney Opera House in Australia and recently in Mexico City.
“These globally significant exhibitions are the kind of outstanding art and cultural experiences Calgarians
would see in other major cities in Canada and around the world,” said Kirstin Evenden, Glenbow
Museum’s President and CEO. “Glenbow is committed to presenting exhibitions of this calibre to our
city.”
Glenbow Museum is proud to partner with One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo and Cantos
Music Foundation to bring Brian Eno to Calgary for a special Illustrated Talk on January 6, 2011. Glenbow
Museum will offer extended hours that evening to allow patrons to view the exhibition before the talk.
Joint tickets for the talk and exhibition are available at ww.hprodeo.ca or at 403.294.9494.
77 Million Paintings will be on display at Glenbow Museum until March 20, 2011.
The exhibition is presented in association with the One Yellow Rabbit High Performance Rodeo 2011.
ABOUT GLENBOW MUSEUM
Glenbow is a museum, art gallery, library and archives all under one roof. One of Canada’s largest museums, Glenbow boasts
more than 1 million artifacts, over 31 thousand works of art, approximately 100 thousand books and 2 million photographs in
its vast collection. Created in 1966 through the generosity of founder Eric L. Harvie, Glenbow Museum is where intriguing
stories from western Canada connect with extraordinary art and artifacts from around the world.
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Media Inquiries:
Megan Bailey
Communications Specialist
403.268.4259
[email protected]