ART = POWER

An article by Ebube Onoh

(Visual art for the visually impaired- The BLIND series) Self portrait by Roy Nachum 2009

Power. Its definition in the Webster dictionary is "the ability or right to control people or things". So presumably, it can be said that anyone who by whatever means can control or influence a person/people or things possesses power. 

When we think of beings with power, we think of glorious beings, be it those spoken of in Greek and Norse mythologies or others that have been worshipped over the centuries or those we see in comic books and their movie adaptations. When we think of a man with power and we think of advanced strength, super speed and other abnormal biological advantages that give these beings power over others, we know these things are but figments of our imagination and that they are not real. This doesn't mean that superpowers don't exist, they do and are very much around us. 

I haven't seen a person with heat vision in my lifetime but i have seen a an alternative type of power. This super power is Art. Art in it's visual and non-visual forms is an extremely powerful weapon. It has the ability to uplift, destroy, inspire, confuse, liberate, capture and influence, both physically and emotionally. A piece of literature has the ability to change a man in all sorts of ways. Music, which is one of the rawest art forms has massive and direct influence over our emotions and has the ability to transport us within and beyond reality. From fantasies; which exist only in our imagination, to specific points in time- music has a way of attaching itself to specific periods and experiences unique to the listener. From personal experience, I've felt the power of art more so in music and other non-visual aspects as opposed to visual more painterly stuff. On a random day last summer, I heard a song for the second time in my life. As soon as the song came on it triggered a very nostalgic feeling. It was almost like I had been transported back in time to my first encounter with hearing the song at a party the previous year. At that exact point in time, the song was able to capture the essence of that very moment, the memories associated with it and was stored in my mind subconsciously until it was triggered.

Sometime last month, I was listening to a song by Hans Zimmer from the movie "Batman Vs Superman". In the movie, Superman dies. His death was meant to have heavy and emotional effect on the viewers but unfortunately this was not the case due to several factors. However, when I listened to the song from that exact scene in the movie in an isolated scenario, I was able to feel the impact of the death of the character and the emotions that went along with it. That piece of music made me understand and connect more to the event.

Art has the ability to influence the senses and mould the receiver in whichever way it wants to. It has the power to give sight to one who is without sight. A blind man, whether born blind or acquired the deformity with time has lost his vision in a literal sense, but art has the power to give vision to such person. With use of braille and the sense of touch, several artworks have the effect of stimulating visual images and in turn opening up the minds eye.  If that isn't power, I don't know what is.

Ebube Onoh is a photographer, painter and film maker/enthusiast and also a good friend of A'naala's. You can check out some of his work on his instagram page @ebube_onoh.