I am on the verge of a headsplosion. This subject is very near and dear to my heart as a student of art, but this may take a while. I am attempting to organize what is potentially pages and pages of rambling into coherent thought, so please bear with me as I tackle this…er … bear.
A subject that has recently been on everyones mind is video games as art. There's a contingent of people who have never played video games that decided to take it upon themselves to profess games cannot be art. In return the majority of people who do play games come back with the argument of "yes they are, you just don't know, shut up". In short, most just get mad instead of giving evidence as to why games are legitimately art, and an amazing and unique form to say the least.
While this rhetoric is not helpful for either side it continues none the less.
I recently found myself in an art museum in San Francisco. While browsing the halls with my wife I came upon a large canvas, I can't recall the name of the piece but it was basically just painted purple. This was right across the hall from a masterful piece showcasing Niagra falls circa 1890 in beautiful detail, oil and canvas. This led to a peculiar pondering that I never thought I would ever have: Do games even want to be considered art.
We live in a day and age where essentially anything is art. I will borrow a quote here from an excellent Pixar film, The Incredibles. Basically the villain Syndrome has created items that emulate super powers that he plans to sell to the public so that "everyone can have powers. Everyone can be super! And when everyone's super… No one will be." My bias love for Pixar aside this line is amazing. It's so true! Think of it this way: If everything is art, then nothing is art.
Art has gone through many phases and changes and we are now in what I like to call the "immature age" of art. All pretentiousness aside the fact is anything is considered art nowadays and the reason seems as simple as this: A person does something and calls it art and we have to accept it as that. It's like some people can't stand that they have no artistic talent so they make something, ANYTHING and then call it art, then whine and complain if YOU don't call it art.
There is a flip side to this as well: People who are to artistically inclined. I'm going to switch gears here from art as art to music as art, savvy? Good. I've been a musician for many years and I've met many extremely talented people. There's this pattern I noticed, some people get so good that they go full circle and become bad. They will play these incomprehensible progressions that are neither technically impressive nor pleasing to the ear. Why? The best answer I can come up with is that they just get full of themselves, but it's shocking how many times I've seen this happen in MANY different areas of art.
Another argument that recently peaked my interest was one between two friends about photography. One of my friends thought that only digital photography could be art while the other believed only classic film could be. Here's something to understand: mediums evolve. There will always be new and sometimes easier ways to express artistic talent (notice, you must have said artistic talent). Don't tell me a picture is any less striking or powerful because it was taken with a digital camera, and vice versa. Can things that are created digitally not be considered art? Is it the medium that really matters or the artist? The person behind the medium with the creative force driving the project.
The next part of the argument started when someone said Photoshop isn't art. Wow. Now thats the ignorance I'm talking about and the same ignorance that surrounds Games. Here's some simple examples of Art vs. NOT ART (in my humble opinion of course)
Photoshop Win
Photoshop/manipulation Fail
Post Modern Impressionism Win
Post Modern Art Fail
Modern Sculpture Win
Modern Sculpture Fail
Art Win
Video Games as Art Win
Video Games as Art Fail
Let's look up the definition of this word people are having so much trouble with
art 1 |ärt|
noun
1 the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power : the art of the Renaissance | great art is concerned with moral imperfections | she studied art in Paris.
• works produced by such skill and imagination : his collection of modern art | an exhibition of Tibetan art | [as adj. ] an art critic.
• creative activity resulting in the production of paintings, drawings, or sculpture : she's good at art.
2 ( the arts) the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance : the visual arts | [in sing. ] the art of photography.
3 ( arts) subjects of study primarily concerned with the processes and products of human creativity and social life, such as languages, literature, and history (as contrasted with scientific or technical subjects) : the belief that the arts and sciences were incompatible | the Faculty of Arts.
4 a skill at doing a specified thing, typically one acquired through practice : the art of conversation.
When I look at that definition I have no trouble whatsoever in calling games art. They fit that to a T. Creativity, Imagination, heck, games even take it a step further by making it all interactive. Other things people are calling art, say, modern masterpieces like "My messy room" (which is literally just a persons dirty room on display in a gallery) take no effort, imagination, skill or talent. Alas though, it is all just opinion. Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It just really grinds my gears that movies can be considered art and Video Games are left by the wayside.
You might have noticed the picture I used for "Video Games as Art Win" was Ico. I chose this because I feel it is something that truly solidifies games as art. From the stunning vistas that would enrapture even the old masters, to the subtle dialogue (or lack thereof really) this game is a masterpiece. No story is shoved down your throat through exposition and cutscenes, there is no contrived romance. It is a very simple story that is touching and exciting, told almost without words but incredibly powerful.
This game was crafted with skill and love. The best thing is, there are more games like it! I don't mean carbon copies of Ico, but games that attempt to be something more then mindless fun (though as I have stated before I have no problem with that). Games are art, just like movies, just like music, just like literature, just like art. These are things that draw people in and enrich there lives. I know that is what video games have done for me, as have all the other things I listed. Now, if one of those had not really enriched my life, it wouldn't be fair for me to dismiss it as a whole. So naysayers, please calm down, and game makers; thank you.
this.
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