Re:The Difference Between Art and Craft - techne
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Are Videogames Art?
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I agree with other posters in being troubled by equating art with originality. Think of Shakespeare! He wasn't original in the way we think of it-- almost all of his stories and plots were taken from other sources; his 'originality' is in the craft of language and how he put those stories together.
There are some greek words that seem pertinent to this discussion. The greek word techne is the root of our word technology, and it means skill, art, or craft-- any of them! there is an 'art' to sailing, or any other kind of craft that we, now, would think of more as a skill. In addition, our words for poet and poem derive from a Greek verb which means to do or make. The poet is a maker; a poem is a creation. So the ideas of art and craft are historically a lot more connected than we realize.
I was thinking of Madeleine L'Engle, too, because of a quote of hers that I remembered:
"If I have something that is too difficult for adults to swallow, then I will write it in a book for children."
I haven't read the Harry Potter books, but I think that often the ways we categorize books can be quite arbitrary (because bookstores need to have a section to put them in-- although virtual bookstores should be able to get around that problem by listing in multiple categories).
I hadn't thought before about whether Star Wars is childish... And perhaps that is why many of us were disappointed with Episode 1, as other posters have pointed out.
I, for one, am not too worried if I like things intended for children. My religion says I ought to be childlike, though not childish.
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There are some greek words that seem pertinent to this discussion. The greek word techne is the root of our word technology, and it means skill, art, or craft-- any of them! there is an 'art' to sailing, or any other kind of craft that we, now, would think of more as a skill. In addition, our words for poet and poem derive from a Greek verb which means to do or make. The poet is a maker; a poem is a creation. So the ideas of art and craft are historically a lot more connected than we realize.
I hadn't thought before about whether Star Wars is childish... And perhaps that is why many of us were disappointed with Episode 1, as other posters have pointed out.
I, for one, am not too worried if I like things intended for children. My religion says I ought to be childlike, though not childish.