Oblique Strategies, Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt (1975) [idea clutch]
Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas
Long-time collaborators musician (artist? producer? theorist? technologist?) Brian Eno and composer (painter? educator? tinkerer) Peter Schmidt teamed up in 1975 to create a deck of cards with prompts intended to help break a creative block. I’ve also successfully used them as-slightly abstract-conversation starters with close pals and strangers alike.
I often think about this quote from Eno’s diary, when he surely on his way to conceiving of these cards, “stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences”
The look and feel of cards have evolved quite a bit, but the original ethos has remained. Here are some images of the first set of cards. You can buy a modern edition here.