十年树木 百年树文

To be fair, the government has invested considerable efforts and money in cultural development over the last few decades. The bill for the Esplanade - Theatres On The Bay alone is $600 million. The National Arts Council also deserves praise for being much more generous now in sponsoring performances, exhibitions and publications.

　　Yes, money makes the world go around. The availability of funds is a must in promoting the arts and culture. Yet money is not the only answer. The mentality of the nouveau-riche - money will buy us the arts that we want - is an attitude that we should guard against.

　　Sure, money can buy the artworks of late master painters such as Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi and Li Keran, but can you use it to “clone” Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi or Li Keran？ And if you neither appreciate nor treasure Xu Beihong's famous paintings of horses, you might as well buy some real horses instead.

　　An arts centre that offers state-of-the-art equipment can make Singapore a world-class venue for cultural events, but not a city that can create and produce world-class art performances. Likewise, you can pay a few million dollars for a much-sought-after violin but this will not turn you into a renowned violinist. A dearth of local talent, a reliance on imports and being contented as a venue for cultural activities are indications that what we lack is not money, but a vision and a good grasp of what is needed to promote the arts.

　　Not only should officials who are responsible for nurturing the arts and culture understand arts production, but they should also know how to make sure that money is well spent.

　　They should thus be receptive to the views of artists. There are two reasons for this.

　　Firstly, artists are experts in their field. They can tell a good production from a bad one and will not miss out on a gem. The key is to seek expert opinion before the die is cast as what is done cannot be undone.

　　Secondly, thrift is a habit of outstanding artists. A master painter will not draw more lines or use more colours than necessary. A great poet will also not use a single redundant word.

　　You can argue that this habit may not extend beyond artistic pursuit. The truth is that there are few well-off Singaporean artists. By and large, they live a frugal and simple life and are not given to extravagance. In fact, they are more likely to help save rather than spend money.

　　The Chinese saying that “it takes 10 years to grow trees but 100 years to nurture a generation of good men” which highlights the process and importance of education is equally applicable to the development of the arts and culture. We should not attempt to hasten the pace and hope for quick success. A conducive and supportive environment is needed to produce talent in the arts.

　　Our key weakness is that an overall environment where Singaporeans love and respect the arts has not been created. Now that we have the resources, we must make sure that we also have the vision and knowledge to use them in a way that will produce the desired results.

　　As for according artists the respect they deserve, we have yet to develop a system that will provide them with a stable life that allows them to make full use of their potential and creativity. Our society is still obsessed with the number of “A”s one can score in examinations. Even if we had a little “Beethoven” among us, he probably would have been thoroughly demoralised when he failed to get any “A” in examinations. In a system that tests the ability to pass examinations with flying colours, I wonder how many creative cells have been destroyed.

　　（The writer is a correspondent of Lianhe Zaobao. Translated by Yap Gee Poh.）

　　公平地讲,近十几来年,我国政府在文化建设方面出力不算小,花钱不算少。旁的不说,单单建滨海艺术中心就投入6亿元。国家艺术理事会出钱赞助演出、展出与出书,也比过去慷慨,值得来个掌声鼓励。

　　现在常听人说钱多好办事,要发展文化艺术,没钱是万万不能,但也别以为有了钱就什么都能。“老子有钱,还怕没有好的艺术？”这是一种暴发户心态,我们要警惕与防止的就是这种心态。

　　你有的是钱,徐悲鸿的奔马,齐白石的小虾,李可染的水牛,你统统可以买下来,没错。但你只能买到人家的产品,不能用钱造个徐悲鸿、齐白石、李可染出来。花钱买来外国名家的作品,如果不会欣赏,又不懂得珍惜,拥有几幅徐悲鸿的奔马,还不如养几匹真马。

　　有了世界设备一流的艺术中心,可以使我们成为世界一流的文化码头,但那绝不等于拥有世界一流的艺术。你可以花几百万元买一把世界一流的小提琴,但你不会因此就自动成为世界一流的小提琴家。缺乏本土产品,老是靠进口,满足于文化码头的地位,这说明我们不缺钱,缺的是远见,缺的是对艺术规律的了解。

　　发展文化艺术,负责的人不仅要了解创作的艺术,还要懂得花钱的艺术,什么钱该花,什么钱不该花,要有个原则,要按照艺术规律办事。

　　这方面,不能不多听艺术家的意见,理由有二：一、毕竟人家是内行,会分别什么是宝什么是草,也不会走宝。听取意见最好在事前,不要在事后。生米已经煮成熟饭了,叫达芬奇再世也没法把熟饭变回生米。

　　二、优秀的艺术家都善于节约。高明的画家不会画多余的线条,也不会乱加不必要的颜色；高明的诗人用字非常“吝啬”,诗里头多一个字都不行。

　　当然你可以说,艺术创作上善于节约,不等于做任何事都懂得节约。但我要说新加坡的艺术家没几个是大富大贵的,一般上生活都十分俭朴,粗茶淡饭过日子,奢侈浪费不是他们的长处。让他们教你怎么花钱,实际上是教你怎么样省钱。

　　古语说十年树木,百年树人,说的是教育事业,其实文化建设也一样,不妨说“十年树木,百年树文”。文化艺术事业不能拔苗助长,不能急于求成。尤其是艺术人才的培养,讲究的是良好的气候与土壤。

　　新加坡发展艺术的最大弱点是：我们还没有在全民当中营造爱好艺术,尊重艺术家的大气候。新加坡的艺术土壤不肥沃,我们现在有了钱可以施肥,但金钱本身不是肥料,花钱买肥料,没有眼光,会买错肥料,没有知识,会用错肥料,将肥料变成废料。

　　再说说尊重艺术家。我们现在还没有建立一个让艺术家生活安定,并充分发挥才华的机制,整个社会仍旧笼罩在两眼只看会考多少个“A”的气氛中。如果我们有个小贝多芬,叫他参加会考,他很可能会被“烤”到体无完肤,一个“A”也拿不到。在这种考你会不会“考”的体制下,不知多少个艺术细胞被扼杀。