Mercury (Hobart)

A toast to longevity, Creativity

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HOW many of us keep working until we are in our 80s and 90s? Two occupation­s where it seems to be common are visual artists and conductors.

What is it that enables them to find the energy and stamina to lead orchestras, paint or produce sculpture?

Is it that creativity lengthens the working life?

Or is it that the physical act of baton waving or moulding clay is a fruitful daily exercise?

Last week the San Francisco Chronicle featured Riccardo Muti, an Italian conductor who is now 80 and who has just extended his contract with the renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra until 2023.

The Chronicle listed conductors who are still working over the age of 80 and it’s a veritable list.

Christoph von Dohnányi is 92, regularly features with American orchestras and has conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Another is Australian Opera conductor Richard Bonynge, who is 90.

Herbert Blomstedt who at 94 is the world’s oldest conductor was asked earlier this year by German broadcaste­r Deutsche Welle how it is he can undertake the physically and intellectu­ally taxing role of crafting music with an orchestra to such an exacting standard.

“It’s the love of music. Of course, you also have to have a certain level of fitness. But music — and by that I mean the great classical tradition — provides a lot of strength because it stimulates the intellect and the emotions equally” said Blomstedt.

Maybe it helps that Blomstedt starts his day with a prayer (a form of meditation) is a vegetarian and does not drink alcohol.

And when it comes to visual artists there are plenty to rival the octogenari­an and nonagenari­an conducting fraternity.

Tasmanian artist Max Angus was painting until he died aged 102 in 2017.

Another artist to who adopted Tasmania as his home, Lloyd Rees, was painting up until he died in 1988. He was born in 1895.

Guy Warren, who at 100, is Australia’s oldest living artist, told the Sydney Morning Herald in April this year that “good genes, good luck and a whiskey every night”, might be an explanatio­n for his creative longevity. He told visual arts writer John McDonald there might be “two golden rules” — “don’t sit around in pubs” and “look for the good in everything”.

Overseas there is the German artist and glass maker Gerhard Richter who is 89 and David Hockney, one of the most important British artists of modern times is 84.

Is there any science behind this pattern?

A 2014 paper by Russian researcher­s Anisimova and Zharinov, published in Advances in Gerontolog­y suggested that “intensive creative work is a contributi­ng factor to the increase in life span and longevity”.

The paper linked education and higher socio-economic status as factors. Other research shows that the music itself and the exercise which conductors get by “flapping their arms around”, and doing it day after day are also factors which explain the ability of these musicians to work into their 90s.

Similarly with visual artists, the impact on the brain of creating art is to reduce stress and heighten emotional expression. There is also the physical act of painting or creating a sculpture.

“Creativity in and of itself is important for remaining healthy, remaining connected to yourself and connected to the world,” Christiann­e Strang, a professor of neuroscien­ce at the University of Alabama, told American broadcaste­r NPR last year.

But even if you are not fortunate enough to be a profession­al visual artist or conductor, other research shows the benefit of simply engaging with art by going to concerts, visiting

galleries or attending theatre.

A ground breaking UK study, the results of which were published in the British Medical Journal in 2019 found that after “taking account of a range of economic, health and social factors, the researcher­s found that people who engaged in arts activities once or twice a year had a 14 per cent lower risk of dying at any time during the follow-up period than those who never engaged (3.5 deaths per 1000 person years vs 6 deaths per 1000 person years).”

And the study reported that people “who engaged in arts activities more frequently (every few months or more) had a 31 per cent lower risk of dying (2.4 deaths per 1000 person years).”

The likely explanatio­n for these results was, according to the research, “difference­s in cognition (thinking and understand­ing), mental health, and physical activity levels among those who did and did not engage in the arts.”

Here in Tasmania we are fortunate to have ample opportunit­y for engagement in the arts with a leading orchestra such as the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, who’s chief conductor Eivind Aadland is a youthful 65, not to mention chamber ensembles and solo artists.

There is visual art in abundance on this island. As population ages the lessons from conductors and visual artists on longevity are timely. And they are in reach for most of us.

 ?? ?? The late Max Angus opening an exhibition on his 101st birthday at Lady Franklin Gallery in Hobart.
The late Max Angus opening an exhibition on his 101st birthday at Lady Franklin Gallery in Hobart.
 ?? ?? Main: German conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi. Top: Australia’s oldest artist Guy Warren.
Right: Herbert Blomstedt.
Hobart barrister Greg Barns SC is a human rights lawyer who has advised federal and state Liberal government­s.
Main: German conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi. Top: Australia’s oldest artist Guy Warren. Right: Herbert Blomstedt. Hobart barrister Greg Barns SC is a human rights lawyer who has advised federal and state Liberal government­s.

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