Do you consider RP an art?

[Lady Irony]

Lately, I see questions like this, and I go through all of the arguments I've already seen out there all over again and in an instant. I'm at the point in my thinking where I don't think art is a worthwhile descriptor for anything. All of human endeavor can be argued to be art at this point. If everything is art, then nothing is art. The term holds no useful meaning. We may as well just use the words we've already given to things and use art like an adjective. Use it for things an individual finds to be "art". If someone finds that this allows things to be considered art that shouldn't be, well that's really just their opinion.

I said the same thing somewhere in this thread. It's like that other feel good phrase some people love "Everyone is beautiful" if everyone is beautiful than no one is ugly and therefore beauty is meaningless. Same with art. Can some RP's be art? Perhaps just like some food dishes can be art but you can't just fry some eggs and throw them on toast and call it art even if you use some bacon to make a smiley face.

It just makes words and terms meaningless in the end.

 

[snicker-sage]

Think i used to, but not anymore, sadly..

 

[Xanaphia]

Most of the time, when writing a post for an rp, I am just trying to think up another word for thrust, that I haven't used in my last couple hundred words. So no, a lot of my posts are not art. But I have also written incredible pieces that I am so proud of that I would most certainly classify as art. Hell, I've had other people hit me up to tell me that something I've written made them feel something. Other than horny, even!

 

[Friendly Allien]

Personally? No. I consider it a collaborative activity, much like a game. I will however admit that it can, and is, an expression of creativity and imagination. Nothing is said about the quality of writing, or themes explored for me - it is just the intent and mechanics of the activity, much in the same way that I do not consider what I do as a Game Master an art, but it has an artistic expression to it but I do consider a writer creating a written work wherein the same things happen in that game as a piece of literary work and could be considered art.

It is, however, all very subjective depending on individual criteria and perspectives on what art is, what artistic expression is, and so on. It is invariably a personal answer for everyone.

 

[Ech0]

I consider it a hobby that allows for the creative mind to explore. Or, I used to.

Writing is an art form on its own, whether or not a person wishes to acknowledge it. Just as an artist uses brushes, paints, and canvas to create a vision in their minds, a writer uses words, sometimes ink and paper, other times with technology as it is, a computer/typeriter or some other means to put words down for others to read. What an artist can do with a brush to create a scene for others to oogle, a writer uses words to paint their scenes and allow for the minds of those reading the words to interpret how they play out in the mind.

Just as art is subjective, so is the creation of stories. Even with descriptions, the reader/viewer will see what they see in their own heads.

So, yes... Roleplay, can be an art form... just as any other creative hobby one decides to immerse themselves in. One could consider it a dance between two or more writers in their creation... it can be a wonderful experience or one that leaves another wanting...

 

[Seranda]

I think so. If film can be considered art through cinema, writing can do the same.

 

[Revelations]

Do I consider RP art? It's kind of complicated I guess. Creative writing is always artistic in nature but I find it hard to process what I do as 'art'. That doesn't mean it isn't, but I find it difficult to feel what I'm making is art.