So I met this editor of a prominent business magazine who declared with relish that he doesn’t waste time reading novels. Far from being impressed, I felt sorry for him. He clearly doesn’t know what he’s missing.
I read novels primarily to entertain myself and also write them for the same reason. It’s never about teaching anyone anything although sometimes that does happen. After four years doing a B.Com degree guess when I really understood what debit and credit really means? From a novel. A Ken Follet I believe, something about banking, although the title escapes me since I’ve read so many of his books.
Follet does tons of research for his novels and yet, his books move at a fast clip. The technical details never slow down the narrative. That takes tremendous skill. Case in point? Pillars of the Earth. Who would have thought that a novel crafted around the building of a cathedral would be so captivating.
Anyway, this post isn’t about books but art in general. You can’t live without art. Don’t believe me? A few examples will suffice.
Let’s start with something most of us carry in our wallets. A business card. It defines what we do, who we are, where we spend the bulk of our time every day. Every business card has a logo, a symbol around which all branding is built. Some logos are so unique and famous, we know immediately which company it is even without seeing the name. Who designs logos? Artists. Graphic designers to be precise. We rely on artists to craft our corporate identities.
Our homes would be dull and lifeless without art…
Our offices too…
Imagine your dream home with a garden and a water feature, perhaps a swimming pool or waterfall. Flowers spilling out of well designed flower beds, along paved footpaths lit with lamps that reflect the designs of leaves and trees at night. There’s a reason we call them landscape designers. They create works of art using greenery.
Think about the public buildings we inhabit everyday. Architects have elevated construction to an art form. The best structures are not only functional, they are also works of art. Tourists travel halfway around the world to visit and admire these structures, boosting entire economies in the process.
Did you know that the Taj Mahal receives 8 million visitors a year? That’s roughly half of the 15 million visitors that the Forbidden City in Beijing attracts or the 18 million who visit Disneyland annually. But the nearly 400-year-old monument is beginning to show signs of wear and tear. To preserve it, India is considering imposing a daily limit of 40,000 on the number of domestic tourists permitted to visit the Taj Mahal, according to The Guardian. That’s what I call a good problem. In Kenya, we can only dream of one day getting such tourist numbers.
Now think about how you relax. You’ve come home from a hard day at work, kicked off your shoes at the door and sunk blissfully onto your favourite sofa. What comes next? I’m betting you’ll put on some music, catch up with your favourite TV series or watch a movie.
Perhaps you decide to pass through the local and catch some pints with friends. There will be some music in the background ofcourse or perhaps a game on the big screen. Ditto if you’re at the gym. Or maybe you put on your earphones and select your favourite playlist on YouTube. Or play a game of golf or shoot some pool. What do these activities have in common? They all involve art.
Attending a concert…
Watching films and TV dramas…
The best and worst times of our lives are intertwined with art. Take weddings for instance. From the wedding gown to the bridal bouquet, the decor at the venue, vehicles ferrying the bridal party, photography and video to capture the most memorable moments, the music selection, to the vows exchanged by the couple, none of it would be possible without artists.
And then there’s the flip side. When the universe deals us a brutal blow and we lose a parent, sibling, child, friend or mentor. When the grief is so deep and all consuming there is nothing we or anyone else can say to ease it. That’s when we turn to the poets. We quote a line from the dear departed’s favourite poem, perhaps some lines from scripture.
As life runs on, the road grows strange with faces new – and near the end. The milestones into headstones change, Neath every one a friend.
James Russell Lowell
Some of us turn to our favourite authors and songwriters; immerse ourselves in their prose, all in a bid to find comfort. To try and understand why this horrible thing has happened to us. Why we’re still here and they are gone. How we can possibly live in a world without them in it. And our favourite artists give us strength to keep going.
“What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.” – William Wordsworth
Historically during times when people were under the yoke of slavery or brutal repressive regimes, they often turned to art as a form of protest, to pass coded messages right under the noses of their oppressors. The Mau Mau used songs and poems to hide messages from colonial rulers and to keep their spirits up during the fight for Kenya’s independence.
Ngugi wa Thiongo, Kenya’s best known literary icon used fiction to pass coded messages through his plays, for instance, I will marry when I want. Wahome Mutahi aka “Whispers” Son of the soil, satirist per excellence, challenged political and social power in his writings and performances. He was a member of the Free Travelling Theatre which helped to impart ideas through performances during the repressive Moi regime when the free flow of ideas was resisted by the political elite.
This cartoon published in the regional East African newspaper, got Gado fired from the Nation Media Group.
Art has the ability to unite a nation, however divided. Think about when we’re cheering our runners on the world stage, does anyone really care in that moment, what tribe they belong to? No. We’re all Kenyans in that magical hour. Another example is when Kenya’s Rugby Sevens team beat Fiji 30-7 to claim their first World Series title in 2016…
When Sauti Sol won Best Group Award at the 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards…
And when Lupita Nyongo won Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years a Slave at the 2014 Oscars, the first African actress to win an Academy Award.
Life would truly be dreary without art. It represents the best that humans have to offer the world and is a source of great comfort when things are bad. It’s in us and all around us whether or not we’re conscious of that fact. Engineers, doctors and other scientists keep the world running, but it’s artists who make it truly worth living in.
Art adds colour, beauty and brightness to our world. At a time when the economy is in such dire straits, we could all use a little more colour in our lives. In short: Art=Life.
Have I convinced you yet? Or are you one of those people who only believe hard facts and statistics. What is that saying: In God we trust. Everyone else must bring data. If that describes you, perhaps this will help. Adios!
