07 1 / 2014
An Unfortunately Familiar Conversation
Another critic has stated that video games are not art. Jonathan Jones at The Guardian has written another piece to double down on his proclamation that video games are not art, and while this topic might be getting tired for you, I had some thoughts that I wanted to share.
I am providing the full text without his permission to prevent even more ad revenue to the article:
“I’ve occasionally been asked for my comments on video games. Are they art? My quick answer, when asked, has always been a fairly curt “No”.
And then guess what – Santa brought a PlayStation. Plus a variety of games, old and new. So am I all turned around on the joys of virtual play?
I certainly know (slightly) more. I am no expert (honestly, Lara Croft, I thought you could jump off that cliff without a scratch). But do I still suspect these computer game thingumajigs are the devil’s mind candy? Well, no. I think they’re a fantastic pastime.
The great defence of video games is that they are not the internet – no offence intended – with its ceaseless assaults on attention span. While many aspects of digital culture minimise concentration (hey you! You know who you are. Please read to the end of this short article before posting a comment …), games demand absolute attention over long periods of time. They create fictional worlds of great conviction and intensity. Above all, in an age when free online stuff is the norm, games have expensive production values and no one seems to resent paying money to reward those.
So in many ways, the world of computer games is an alternative model of digital life – a more creative, even contemplative, style of interaction. Until you post your scores online and blog about which game is better and the whole noise of random comment starts again.
Which brings me back to that old chestnut … can video games be art? And the answer is still No, or at least, Not Likely. It seems a bizarre and irrelevant question to ask. Like, if I was reading Jane Austen and you said, “But is it sport?” No, it’s not sport, it’s a novel. Why would it need to be anything else?
Electronic games offer a rich and spectacular entertainment, but why do they need to be anything more than fun? Why does everything have to be art?
Very few things count as Art. I would argue that very little art is actually art – because most of it fails, and failed art is not art. We just politely pretend that it is.
Better to create a good game than a bad work of art. Games give us pleasure and freedom. Art also does that, in a different way. But it is rare. I enjoy games. I hate bad art.”
Despite the fact that it was most likely written only to bring in traffic for ads, it is a deplorably close-minded perspective on what is classified as artistic expression. He tries to muddy the waters by comparing the discussion to asking if Jane Austin is sport, implying both that games even aspiring to be art is nonsense, and that art is defined by its medium. His opinions are not just poorly expressed, but are potentially destructive and could reinforce a mainstream stigma that video games are vapid time wastes only for social misfits. Mr. Jones, I am not here to declare unequivocally that all games are art. In fact, I would say most are not. It is as pointless as having a debate whether clay is art or not. It is merely a medium, and it is only realized expression that can be classified as art.
The most generally accepted definitions of art include two criteria: It was intentionally made and it is appreciated for its beauty or emotional power. Art is not bound by its medium and if you can find a way to elicit emotion from potatoes, farts, or jumping jacks, you have produced art. Now understand that before you put your cardio-fart-starch exhibit up at your local museum, that accessibility is also an important aspect of artistic classification. Enough people should be moved by your display for there to be consensus that it is art. And while the most non-conformist creatives can throw the art label on everything they see, mainstream consensus that games can be art is important to its advancement.
It’s a cycle that needs to be broken. If games are not perceived as a powerful medium worthy of intelligent and creative people to use, then creative talent will use other mediums for expression. So we do need mainstream acceptance that video games are a valid form of artistic expression. It is versatile, multifaceted, and capable of delivering narratives across a full spectrum of interactivity. Mr. Jones, I know you are trying to make a buck, but please understand it is not the job of an art critic to evaluate an entire medium. I’d be happy to see your review on Cart Life, Papers Please, Braid, Journey, or Flower.