In my previous post, I ended by touching upon the question of whether or not video games can or should be considered art. And in all honesty, I really do not have an answer, or even an argument for or against the notion. However, after examining various arguments made by several Internet writers, both scholarly and not, I have observed that, in the end, one’s view toward the issue comes down to what one’s definition of ‘art’ exactly is. In the following post, I will not be making an argument for or against considering video games as art. Rather, I will be explaining from my own observation how one’s definition of art becomes a defining factor in such an argument.
From browsing around the Internet, it seems that most arguments in support of considering video games as art have an extremely wide view toward what ‘art’ is. Such arguments tend to equate ‘art’ with ‘the arts’—a term that is often interchangeably used with ‘the humanities,’ which encompasses everything from philosophy to literature to performing arts to the fine arts, all of which are concerned with human thought and culture. These arguments consider novels and cinematic film to be ‘art,’ and thus attempt to justify video games as art. For example, in Video Games as Art, Internet writer clysm notes the ways in which video games share many structural elements with film and literature. This writer takes note of how video games often incorporate narratives, music, and elements of the visual arts, combining them together to form a ‘unique hybrid’ of existing art forms, and thus resulting in an almost entirely new art form. I think that arguments such as this one are actually quite plausible, but only under the assumption that ‘art’ is the same as ‘the arts.’ However, while many people like to equate ‘art’ and ‘the arts,’ many others do not consider them to be one in the same.
Another interesting essay I came across in regards to the plausibility of video games as art, which I actually linked to in my previous post, is an essay written for the online journal Contemporary Aesthetics, a journal sponsored by the Rhode Island School of Design. For the most part, theorist Aaron Smuts seems to share the sentiment of those that I have mentioned above as to the definition of art, but he brings up another interesting point that I think is worthy of consideration. Point being that many museums and prestigious art programs have begun to incorporate video games and related subject matter into their exhibitions and curriculum. This point is interesting because many museums and art schools do not support the idea that ‘art’ is the same thing as ‘the arts.’ Such institutions often put great emphasis on the fine arts and more often than not the conceptual arts, and thus the fact that these institutions accept video games as a valid medium for art-making process becomes an interesting component of the argument for video games as a form of art.
However, I do not think that just because prestigious art institutions accept video game theory and technology as valid sources for art-making that one should assume that these same institutions would consider video games themselves, or video games in general, to be art. Many people within the art world equate the definition of ‘art’ with that of ‘conceptual art,’ which emphasizes the means and process of art-making as well as the ideas and concepts that go into a piece of art. Thus, many such people would resist the notion of considering video games as art.
So again, within the argument of whether or not video games should be considered art, it is my view that the position of each person will differ depending on what his or her own definition of ‘art’ is. I myself am not even sure what my definition of art is, as I have been exposed to so many differing and even opposing definitions in the past couple of years. However, upon creating this blog, I have carefully considered the fact that many people do have differing definitions for art, and that is why I have stated that I will be exploring not only art but also other creative activities when making my arguments in this blog. That is, I do not want to limit myself to any one definition of art that will prevent me from examining various types of creative projects. And although I have not yet established a clear definition of art for myself, it is still interesting to think about whether or not video games are a valid art form, as it is evident that the development of video game technology in the recent couple of decades has brought about various opposing schools of thought in relation to art. Therefore, not only has recent technology had a drastic effect on art itself, but it has also affected art theory in more ways than meets the eye.
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4 comments:
I have to agree with you about how the definition of "art" varies with each interpretation. I'm like you, after having taken numerous studio art theory classes in UCI, in that I still have no definite explanation of what art is to me. Because on one end (the conceptual end that UCI teaches), they tell you that everybody can do art. They tell you that art is the interpretation that happens in the mind of the audience. Or they tell you something else to some degree. And then a week later, they tell you something that completely contradicts the "art" you defined for yourself - such as, if everyone can do art, what is the point of having an institution teach the concepts behind art. It makes it seem like art is only for well-established people that can afford the price of eliticism. There's a red dotted line that tells me I spelled eliticism wrong, but they won't fix it for me.
Or maybe art is defining what "art" is to you. That and confusing yourself, because its part of the journey.
I think I might just be rambling now.
I think that many (but most certainly not all) artists working within the conceptual art world have quite a narrow mindset as to what constitutes ‘art.’ Many people of the general public would consider, for example, illustration or graphic design to be art, yet many conceptual artists would strongly disagree, arguing that art must be communicating some social or political idea. But who is to say that illustration and graphic design don’t communicate such ideas? Surely, graphic design is one of the most communicative forms of ‘art’ out there, with definite content and concepts involved. Yes, graphic design work does differ from the fine arts as such works are created for the specific purpose of selling some product or service, but does a big bold line really need to be drawn between the two? That is what I often wonder, and perhaps something that I will never be able to decide for myself.
And I am not sure if this is exactly what you were getting at, but I often do find many conceptual artists to be somewhat elitist. I wonder if such artists think they are involved in “high art” whereas they consider other forms of visual creativity as “low art.” If this is the case, I fail to understand that mentality, as so many artists of the past few decades, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Barbara Krueger, Jeff Koons, Jeff Wall, and Takashi Murakami (just to name a few), have successfully blurred the boundaries between such distinctions.
I would argue this game is art: The Unfinished Swan.
Maybe the real question here is, can art co-exist/exist within a game? Games like Mirrors Edge or Oni I would argue have their own style and unique portrayal of the future — a form of art?
Either way, the world of gaming and art are becoming increasingly intertwined as graphics improve. A decade ago, artists or designers were rarely used. Modern games today often employ architects and a slew of artistic designers to visually develop concepts for a game.
The Unfinished Swan seems quite interesting. A first-person painter, eh? I must check it out once it is released. As for whether or not it is art, I don’t know—though I am not saying it isn’t. As you have not provided your argument, I am still sticking to my thought that it depends on what one’s interpretation of ‘art’ is.
And you bring up an interesting question, to which I am not sure how I would answer at the moment. For now, I will just say that I will keep it in mind…
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