As something of a counterpoint to my entry yesterday on how exposure to the arts can benefit one’s neurological development is this National Review piece from December in which Robert Fulford reminds us that arts exposure won’t save your soul or improve your personality.
He quotes George Steiner, “‘We know that a man can play Bach and Schubert and go to his day’s work at Auschwitz in the morning,'” and notes “…we also can’t claim that immersion in the arts will create a lively mind. Art education has produced armies of learned bores.”
He also points out that artists are not imbued with any special grace as people and may possess the most vie personalities even as they produce the most engaging works we have ever encountered.
This observation is has become less true of late as an ever increasing tabloid eye on the activities of celebrities has seen art valued in the context of the artist. This isn’t just a matter of actors being fired from Lost to minimize the bad press from a DUI. There is often trouble with the performance of J.S. Bach’s work given a perception of anti-Semitic sentiments which may have simply been a reflection of the time in which he lived and text which he drew from. (The Gospel of John from which he derived his St. John Passion contains a good deal of derogatory content.)
What Fulford says the arts do guarantee is, “Those who give it their time and love are offered the chance to live more expansive, more enjoyable and deeper lives.” It is somewhat reminiscent of the proverb about leading a horse to water since the arts only afford the opportunity of improvement. Education and religion can also prove uplifting but only if they are embraced. Likewise, exposure to the arts with the intent of developing the neurological structures discussed in yesterday’s entry only becomes meaningful in someone’s life if they value the experience.
Reminds one of the scripture, “Even though I speak in the tongues of men and of angels [which is what artists do], but have not love, I am nothing.” There is a step preceding, or following, the artistry, that artists (which we all are, if we can resonate with the artistry) must take. And if we do, it truly becomes a beautiful thing.