There used to be Arts sections in all large newspapers.
As newspapers get smaller and smaller, arts sections disappear or are folded into sections like Entertainment or Lifestyle.
What’s the difference between Art & Entertainment?
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12 thoughts on “Is It Art or Entertainment?”
It depends on your definition of “art” as to whether or not it is different from entertainment. Unfortunately, from where I sit, “art” has been used so broadly that it is almost a meaningless word. When everyone has their own definition it makes it impossible to communicate accurately or effectively.
However, regardless of how you define “art” it is, more or less, a diversion from the purely pragmatic which is not all that different from entertainment.
Sometimes it’s both! When I set up my easel to draw at my booth at Art Walk, people stop to watch and then very often talk with me. I give them something to watch (the entertainment) and they see how art gets made (or at least, how I like to make it).
Good entertainment is art, but art is not always entertaining.
Art or Entertainment…Art is art when it’s created freely without expectations. Art doesn’t have to be entertaining. Art is entertainment when it’s created for the purpose of entertaining people or even just the artist. They can be one in the same or totally different. What? : )
Art is more than entertainment. It is culture and education wrapped up in one package. Simply calling art “entertainment” belittles the importance of art in our society.
I agree with Jackie Webster.
Entertainment, such as movies, are a bedrock of American art – possibly the central art of our culture. OTOH, when art is mentioned, I still think that the majority of people think of visual art, and especially painting.
Imagine two large circles that overlap slightly. Label one of these “Art” and the other “Entertainment.” The area of overlap (called an “intersection” in math) is where art and entertainment coincide. Not all entertainment is art and not all art is entertainment. I’m sure we can all come up with examples where art and entertainment coincide and where they don’t. My examples: A football game is entertainment that is not art. “Guernica” is art that is not entertainment. A well performed opera is both art and entertainment. Where “art” is defined (from Dictionary.com) as
“1. the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. ”
In earlier times (in the western cultures, at least) art was defined as “sacred” and “profane.” This dichotomy has led to the differentiation between so-called “fine” art and “craft.” Of course even here not all craft work qualifies as “art.” But then again, neither do all paintings.
Since my interest in public art shows began in my 30’s, I’ve only ever seen the art section integrated into the entertainment section of newspapers. I’ve gotten used to equating the two but understand there are some important differences between them. On the plus side, having the arts mixed in with the entertainment section gives those who might not otherwise consider visiting an art gallery or any kind of arts-related performance an opportunity to consider what’s on. Since many fine arts programs have been cut in schools, it’s hard to expect the public at large to appreciate it on its own… I don’t know how it would do in a section of its own; it would indeed be catering to a specialized reader educated in the arts. On a slightly different note, I cannot help but acknowledge that, for me, when entertainment is at its very best, it is indeed an art form itself.
I use my time creating ART as a form of ENTERTAINMENT. For me, its one in the same. Not all people are entertained by painting.
Entertainment is a distraction from the essential, art is a perspective of humanity.
Art IS entertainment.
High literature goes to the most entertaining books.
Art can be not entertaining. But then it’s so boring I can’t take the time to stick around long enough to find out what it’s about.
For artists, I think it is a shame to consider art as entertainment. These days the global trend is to cut costs everywhere and Culture in general is suffering the most, it is not only in newspapers where we can notice this, this is everywhere.
Art is EXPRESSION, and expression is FREEDOM.
If someone cuts this, we are lost.