Tenets of Criticism: Art vs. Entertainment

Art without criticism is entertainment. The intention behind entertainment is produce aesthetic feelings in the viewer. There might be are many ways to express, "baby I need you/lost you/love you" or "let's party." There is minimal contemplation in entertainment beyond, “I am enjoying this.”  At the point the answer becomes “no,” the work becomes obsolete.

For example, it does not surprise me that I hear many recording artists call themselves “entertainers.” There is little questioning at a typical Pop music concert where the spectacle is designed to be an immersing experience. This is not to say that Pop music can't be presented in an artistic way. As far as contemporary singers go, I find the work of Lady Gaga to be very artistic.  I love her Bad Romance song and video with its parallels between a destructive romance and the twisted, dichotomous relationship with fame. While I dislike much of her work,  it is always challenging and at least interesting for me to observe her approach to Pop music. 

I find Gotye’s song and video for “Somebody I Used to Know” a striking and successful visual narrative for the song and the artists. The dialogue the song presents is a deeper insight into how complicated relationships really are.   It definitely goes beyond “baby I miss you and can’t believe you’re gone.”

I think he book, "What Hpappend to Art Criticism?" James Elkins takes a relevant practical stance on the the problems in criticism in contemporary art forms He believes critics are:

1. Less opinionated
2. Less ambitious
3. Non-judgmental with what insights they do offer
4. Uncommitted to those insights

(Elkins 12)

The intention behind art is criticism. Where entertainment caters to aesthetic,  art seeks to answer “What do I think about this?” This means:

1. Have an opinion
2. Set high expectations
3. Make a judgement
4. Own what you say

Northrop Frye described the beginning of art as when the producer moves from thinking, "I dislike it" to "this is not how I imagine it" (Frye 4). Art is always challenging the imagination, not only in an aesthetic way, but also in a contextual one. 

Criticism is important to art because, it calls attention to what we should question, because that’s what art does.

Works Cited

Elkins, James. What Happened to Art Criticism? Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Pres. 2003. 2-13.

Frye, Northrop. "Motive for Metaphor." The Educated Imagination. Toronto: House of Anansi Press Inc. 2011. 2-17.