'Tayo ISIJOLA

Artistic creativity is not the preserve of trained and professional artistes only. It is also demonstrated in the instinct of everyone who takes interest in appreciating, appraising, criticizing, or responding to the performing arts. It is an instinct that ensues when there human imagination distills life’s undulating experiences for adaptation and survival. Hence artistic creativity is a survival instinct. This thinking therefore premises the fluidity of human identity. As every man is perceived to put up varying identities at instances of fright and fight, surplus and shortage, and other up-and-down varied situations - It is the artistic creative instinct that enables adaptation for survival through the swift navigating between “real-real” and “fictional-real” identities. Indeed, there is an artiste in every one.  This artistic creative instinct provides impetus for performing artiste in much the same way as it enables the viewer-audience to receive the performance communication smoo

Every genuine creative artiste is motivated, first, by a flash that glows and ignites the imagination. This drives consciousness in the artiste, pressures available field of exposure, and allows for possible expressions in the creative arts. Further, the measure of consciousness in the artiste creates what may enable an endearment of the viewer-audience to the art. Ultimately, success is deemed when the artiste is able to stimulate a viewer-audience consciousness. All such creative arts works that were considered as evergreen remain evidences of how artistic consciousness has served to preserve the artiste’s legacies. In essence, this factor of consciousness can preserve a creative art work to outlast, and immortalize the curator. Conversely, the reverse is rife in the present age. There is an upsurge of emergent creative artistes and unparalleled technological possibilities are available to them, but a volume of present day creative works have become characterized by rather diminished

Acting, a dramatic art of character interpretation through role-playing, is the nexus of escapism. Every true actor does escape self to assume genuine role-playing, and to enjoin the audience into escapism. Sadly, acting has also become the means of exhibition for certain non-practitioners in public domain. They exploit the prestigious art in the reserve of performance communication for escapism when fixed in a critical situation. Remarkably, some Nigerian high profile public officers indulge in utilizing acting as ploy for escapism. In effect, they modify critical situations into dramatic happenings. Such high profile characters that have evinced the “escapist aesthetics” of acting include a serving Minister (2015), an incumbent Governor (2018), and a sitting Senator (2019)- all of whom made dramatic scenes that had enjoyed huge media reportage and considerable public traction.  A new stock on the list has emerged during the probe of ill-managed funds from the coffers of a juicy gover