Gno Schitt

Strangely, I'm on the fence with this topic. I mean, games are most definitely full of art, "art upon art" as Gabe put it in his post, but I'm not sure that makes them art.

The problem is that the definition of art isn't agreed upon. After all, if I make a game just to make a million dollars is my game still art, even though all I care about is people buying it so that I can get rich? Or, is the statue of the Burger King guy at many BK's now considered art since there were a series of BK games?

I work in advertising, so I can't take shots at art as part of a corporate structure since my entire creative team makes art for mass consumption on a daily basis in an attempt to sell something or share a message. It just seems odd to call something art that will be abandoned in a second if it doesn't achieve sales targets, or get high enough ratings in a certain demographic.

So are videogames art? I really don't know. Some certainly feel that way, Heavy Rain for the PS3 being an excellent recent example. But then you see the movie tie-in games, or the already mentioned BK games, and I can't in good conscious call those titles art.

Art, like beauty, or comedy is in the eye of the beholder, so if you think it's art, then it is to you, but I personally don't think the topic is black and white enough to level a definitive response.

I definitely think some video games are art. It's just like movies. American Pie 87 or whatever they are on I wouldn't consider Art, but something like Baraka, or some of Kurosawa's work, I would definitely consider Art.

Trying to apply a blanket to a medium is just dumb in my opinion.

To me, it just showed how out of touch he is with modern media. No big surprise there. I just get angry that that he would make a claim "will never be art" on any medium. Artists always have a way to take the normal and mundane, and making it different or more emotional.

He already fought a lot of this fight with Movies. When he started I'm sure people said the same about movies, and he proved them wrong. Seems so hypocritical to be on the other side of the fence, without seeing similarities.

But in the end, it's all subjective. I know I think games can be art, so it doesn't really effect me. And the only people that will take his word as law are not likely the people involved in games anyway.

Fuck Roger Ebert.

Oh, and fuck art. All of it.
Seriously, I mean I would love nothing more to be completely naked and fucking all kinds of art. Sexy feminine art preferably in every single medium that can possibly be envisioned.

Is writing really art? Is this blog comment art? It's kinda like art. It's creative, expressive... maybe it's even funny.

Ah, last but not least, fuck you. This is art that insults you.

No really, fuck all of you.

It really is a useless argument.

The label "art" has become so ubiquitous that as soon as you start arguing over what does or does not fall within it's maw, the definition invariably becomes a black whole sucking up everything in its path.

An argument can be made that a photograph of my latest log is "art". Though it WAS quite impressive, only those of you with a fecal fetish would likely agree.

However, the fact of the matter is that there ARE some who would agree. In fact, there's probably someone somewhere who would pay money for that image (as long as I came up with a witty name for it).

On the flipside, someone with a more conservative take on the word "art" might say that a video game is not art because it does not inspire any sort of higher-level emotional response and is nothing more than a series of lights designed to stimulate a reactive response.

Whether you agree or disagree with either end of the spectrum will depend on your own personal preference. Arguing about it is like arguing with someone that they've chosen the wrong colour as their favourite.

Hmmm...should have read the comments first. Basically just rehashed James' argument. Great minds... ;)



CUNT



(My latest artistic masterpiece, inspired by Jay.)