ウラニアさんとあすなろ学院生との交流記録（3）

みんなの声　What’s up?

プラハのウラニアさんからメッセージ（プラハからの便り＊下記）を受け取ったあすなろ学院生とウラニアさんの往復メールをご紹介する第3回。今知る限りの英語を使って思いを伝え相手の言葉を理解しようとする生徒たちと、第二言語の英語を駆使して国際舞台で活躍するウラニアさんとのコミュニケーションを数回に渡り掲載します。以前からお伝えしていますように、コミュニケーションにおいては文法上正しいかどうかより、思いや心を表し、人間同士として通じ合えることが大切です。その観点から掲載する文章にネイティブの校正はしていません。

---

  I study products design in an art university. Since COVID-19 spread, I have felt that value of art and music is different between Japan and Europe.
Many Japanese regard art and music as amusement rather than something worth spending one’s life learning. In Czech, how do people see artists and musicians? How do people consider art and music? (Y.)  

---

 

Hi, Y. and thank you for your question.

Unfortunately art and music is considered as amusement from many people even here in Europe and in Czech Republic. With Covid19 artists are the first people that stayed without jobs and the last that will be able to go back. Artists in general are the ones that give happiness, give voice to emotions, enriching the dull lives of the thousands of people that are looking for an escape through music, paintings, movies, poetry etc. and the irony of the whole matter is that they are the least paid and respected.

Imagine how life would be during the months of quarantine without music, arts, literature and movies. But in order for the artist to be able to create all these they need to study, they need to sacrifice so many things till they manage to give voice or a colour to all these human emotions and offer them further to other people.

There are years of learning and struggle that people can’t see and they are not willing to understand. To play music, to draw a picture, to put words in a sentence that will touch your heart is as difficult as to memorise books of laws or each bone of the human body.

Is a shame that the majority of people all over the world don’t consider arts and artists as something valuable as they consider a banker or a doctor. On the other hand all these people cannot survive without arts. Their lives would be empty and poor.

I remember one time somebody asked me what I do for living and I said I am a pianist and then he said “oh its easy, you just put the music on the piano and play…” I didn’t say anything….This shows how people are ignorant of the hard work of an artist in general. I am a bit pessimistic that this notion will ever change as it was the same for centuries and nothing has changed yet.

Don’t give up on your dreams to become an artist. Is the best thing you will do in your life and the most fulfilling. And yes there also many people out there that they respect and value arts and artist.

Thank you and wishing you all the best and may all your dreams come true.