The Relevance of Arts to Practical Living

INTRODUCTION				disobey one's parents.
For the avoidance of doubt, the concept of the arts				Exposing and Correcting Societal Ills: All aspects of
can be viewed from two perspectives. On the one				the arts are deeply involved in the crusade against
hand, the arts could be understood to mean the				societal ills like corruption and bribery, ritual killing, etc.
subjects one can study at school or university which				They have all been involved, for instance, in ridiculing
are not scientific, which do not employ scientific				the excesses of political and religious leaders as well
methods. Subjects such as history, languages, religion,				as the gullibility of the followers who fall victims to
literature, and so on, would be appropriate examples.				the whims and manipulations of the tricksters. This
On the other hand, it could be interpreted to				they achieve through satire. By so doing, offenders
encompass a wide range of creative activities				who had earlier thought that their activities were
bordering on the skillful and imaginative expression of				unknown would begin to retrace their steps when
ideas, feelings, actions or events. Music, literature,				they discover that their so-called secrets have been
theatre, and art (in the sense of painting, drawing,				exposed. Intending offenders would think twice, while
sculpture, etc) are what make up the arts in this				would-be victims whose eyes will have been opened
sense. For the purpose of this discussion, however,				by such exposition would come to terms with reality
our focus is on the second understanding of arts as				and become wiser. Cultism on our university
proffered above.				campuses has been fought to a reduced rate
The arts can then be classified into literary arts				through the instrumentality of the arts: music, drama,
(poetry, prose, and drama), performing arts (music,				novels, etc. All these have made society a better
dance, theatre) and visual arts (encapsulating the				place to live in.
entire creative activities covered in the field of fine				Aesthetic Value: The arts have beauty and face
and applied arts: drawing, painting, sculpture, graphics,				value, in addition to their intrinsic qualities. We talk
textile, etc).				about the beauty of a poem, a play, a story, a piece
WHY THE QUESTION OF RELEVANCE?				of music, but this beauty applies more to the visual
In developed economies of the world where the				arts, the ones one can see and admire their physical
basic necessities of life seem to have been met, the				outlook, like drawing, painting or sculpture. People go
question as to whether the arts are relevant or not				to art exhibitions to discover, behold and admire the
to practical living is no longer an issue. Thousands of				beauty of art works. Those who can afford them
American citizens would troop down to the				buy them and use them for interior decoration. How
auditorium in Bard College to hear Chinua Achebe's				wonderful it is to walk into a well furnished sitting
reading of his Things Fall Apart, not minding that they				room to behold art works exhibited on the walls!
have heard the same reading over and over again,				They equally serve as status symbol for those who
not minding that the book is over fifty years old; the				can afford them.
same way the English audience would cluster at The				Preservation of Culture: The arts serve to preserve a
Royal Theatre in London to watch the presentation				people's culture. Art itself is an integral part of culture,
of Wole Soyinka's The Trials of Brother Jero or any				that is, culture in the sense of customs, beliefs,
of the plays of Shakespeare, not minding that				practices, art, way of life, and social organisation. So
Shakespeare wrote centuries ago. In the same vein,				many aspects of Nigerian cultural practices, for
even though Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo are				instance, that would have been lost and forgotten
long dead and gone, Italians would pay their very last				are recaptured through the arts. Before the
lira to watch an exhibition of their paintings.				appearance of Things Fall Apart in the world literary
In our own context, economic hardship and the				scene, Western writers like Joseph Conrad and
search for basic necessities of life have meant that				others had led the world into believing that the
only a few have had the time to appreciate the arts				African continent was one long night of darkness and
for what they are worth. In other words, the				that Africans themselves were uncultured and
problem is not whether the arts are relevant or not,				barbaric monkeys who had tails and lived on tree
for it is not in doubt that the arts are relevant to				tops, and who had no souls worthy of salvation. But
practical living as much as any profession, or even				Things Fall Apart and other works after it joined in
more so. The real problem lies in the fact that people				the crusade and changed the world's perception of
are too hungry or too busy to see the real worth of				Africa by presenting the true picture from the inside.
the arts. A man who lives on a monthly salary of				Africans, the world came to see, were after all a
paltry ten thousand naira, with seven mouths to				reasonable people with heart, body and soul, created
feed, and so many other family problems to solve				by one and the same God. They had culture and a
may not easily pay five hundred naira just to watch				mode of worship guided by norms and regulated by
a drama presentation; a Nigerian graduate who has				the principles of human relations even before the
walked the streets of Abuja, Lagos, or Port Harcourt				advent of the Europeans. Continuously, African
in search of a job for three years without success				poems, novels, plays, music, paintings, and so on, as
would know what to do with money rather than				much as possible portray life in both traditional and
spend it on a piece of landscape paintings; likewise, a				modern African societies. The rest of the world has
young man who has had nothing to eat for days, and				continually shown increasing interest in African arts
has no hope of where the next meal is coming from,				and culture. Some of us with a sense of history
would not possibly be coordinated enough to read,				would remember that during the early colonial period,
not to talk of appreciating, works of poetry. If arts				some of Nigerian artifacts were stolen by the colonial
cannot satisfy hunger or thirst, can they still be said				masters and taken to the British National Museum. An
to be relevant?				example of such is the Benin bronze mask.
THE RELEVANCE OF THE ARTS				Fame: It is incontestable that the works of Chinua
The word 'relevance' presupposes usefulness and				Achebe and the Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, have
value. So the right questions should be: are the arts				brought more fame to Africa than the achievements
useful in any way? And our answer: yes, they are.				of all the African political leaders put together. It could
Do they have value? Our answer again: yes, they do.				be argued that before the emergence of these men,
If the arts have use and value, and those are the				the continent was only a dot on the map of the
things that relevance implies, then we can say that				world. But their works and the works of others after
the arts are relevant. That conclusion raises another				them proved to the world that something good could
vital question: in what ways are the arts relevant?				after all come out of Nazareth.
The relevance of arts can be found in the following				THE CHALLENGES
areas.				The challenges facing Nigerian artists are multifaceted:
Entertainment/Relaxation: The various forms of the				lack of encouragement and patronage at both the
arts mentioned above provide one form of				home front and outside, disparaging comments about
entertainment, amusement and relaxation or the				artists, the neglect of the arts by the government,
other. In Biblical times, when the spirit of God				among others. Many homes today discourage their
deserted King Saul and he was tormented by evil				children from going into the practical arts simply
spirits, David was employed to play his harp. The				because they do not believe that a man can feed his
sound of music produced by David's harp kept Saul's				family just writing literary works or just drawing and
mind at peace, for whenever David was not around				painting. Until recently musicians were seen as
to play his harp, the evil spirits came back. In ancient				wayward people and children who opted to sing
Mali too, court poets/historians called Griots were				were disowned by their parents. People still see
known to entertain the audience during national				actors and actresses in the light of the roles they
festivals by reciting long narrative poems recounting				play in movies or stage plays. One particular actor
the heroic achievements of their forebears. At a time				was nearly mobbed at Aba in Abia State of Nigeria
in history, court jesters were employed to entertain				for his role in a movie: a wicked man who killed his
the king or the queen and their visitors by telling				brother.
funny stories and jokes (as can be seen in most of				For the literary artist, it is really a trying time. Reading
Shakespeare's plays). In traditional African societies,				culture is at its lowest ebb. Students of literature
moonlight tales were a veritable source of both				would rather watch a half-cooked film version of
entertainment and relaxation for both old and young.				Shakespeare's Macbeth than read it in print. Many of
Praise singers and dance groups entertained the				them do not even know the recommended texts.
crowd during communal ceremonies.				So, for those who write, they face the lowest
In modern times, in the not too distant past, the late				patronage. The books never get bought. Even when
Sani Abacha was alleged to have employed the				the books eventually find their way into the syllabus,
famous comedian, Chief Zebrudaya, to provide				pirates quickly swing into action. The same
entertainment for him and his cohorts through his				predicament faces movie makers and musicians. The
funny jokes and stories. It was also reported that				government on its part does not help matters. The
the former Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo, is a				dilapidated state of the National Arts Theatre,
great patron of stand-up comedy. Besides, at least				Iganmu, is a pointer to this fact. Since FESTAC '77,
one out of every three people in the world today				no concerted effort has been made towards the
find peace of mind in music; one out of every four				promotion of the arts or the encouragement of
Nigerians relax at home at the close of work to				artists. Concerned citizens and corporate bodies have
watch a home video; and one out of every five relax				been crying out, but the government has turned
in bed with a literature book. Since the advent of				deaf ears to all the yells.
stand-up comedy in Nigeria, even though hardship has				In the face of all this, I still believe that arts
continued unabated, a lot of Nigerians have begun to				practitioners in Nigeria could make a head way the
look at the lighter side of things. Mere listening to a				moment we begin to look inwards. The sooner we
single volume of 'Nite of A Thousand Laughs' would				begin to see the arts as a serious business, the
drive away sorrow in people's hearts. Since these				better for us. Names like Chinua Achebe, Wole
developments began, I bet that had the medical				Soyinka, Ben Enweonwu, John Munonye, J. P. Clark,
practitioners started taking stock, they would have				Niyi Osundare, Odia Ofeimun, Chimalum Nwankwo,
discovered that high blood pressure and other				Chimamanda Adichie, and so on became household
stress-related conditions have reduced by more than				names because they believed in the arts and in
half over the past decade.				themselves and took the arts seriously. No one can
Financial Value: The arts are equally a very lucrative				save us but ourselves. At a time when Communist
venture for serious-minded artists. All arts				Russia faced one of its greatest trials, when the
practitioners who are worth their salt make a living				nation was far behind the West in technological
out of their practice. So many examples of such				advancement, Stalin rose to the challenge. 'We are
people could be found around us. The famous				more than fifty years behind the rest of the world',
Osuofia (Nkem Owoh) is a living example. The				he told Russians. 'We have only ten years to catch
majority of the practitioners in the movie industry				up with them. We either do this or they will
today were not even originally artists. Their				exterminate us'. Pious pronouncements were backed
professions could not provide for them, and so they				up with positive actions, and within the next ten
switched over to the arts. Besides, works of art,				years Russia was on the verge of being pronounced
especially paintings, are considered very highly				a world power.
valuable intellectual property that can be accepted as				In the same spirit, arts practitioners, both established
collateral the same way that gold or diamond or				and intending, should stand up to the challenge and
buildings would be accepted.				not be discouraged because those who question the
Didactic: The arts are known to teach practical moral				relevance of the arts are themselves among the
lessons. The old folklores about the tortoise and his				greatest patrons of the arts, one way or another.
craftiness always ended with one moral lesson or the				They must hold their heads high, and hold their own
other. The story of the feast in the sky where the				against other professions. They must begin to think
tortoise claimed that his name was Mr. All of You, for				of who to replace the Achebes, the Soyinkas, and so
example, ended with the lesson that greed always				on. They must always remember how esteemed
landed one in disaster, just as the story of the				above other professions they are because they are
beautiful girl who refused to marry all the young men				co-creators with God, who himself is the foremost
approved by her parents only to finally fall into the				artist. Until this is done, people will continue to
hands of a ghost taught that it was not good to				question the relevance of arts to practical living.

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The Relevance of Arts to Practical Living