Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive) Volume 3 Volume 3 (2005) Article 6 2005 Are Video Games Art? Aaron Smuts University of Wisconsin, Madison,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/liberalarts_contempaesthetics Part of the Aesthetics Commons Recommended Citation Smuts, Aaron (2005) "Are Video Games Art?," Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive): Vol. 3 , Article 6. Available at: https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/liberalarts_contempaesthetics/vol3/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Liberal Arts Division at DigitalCommons@RISD. It has been accepted for inclusion in Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive) by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@RISD. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Are Video Games Art? Aaron Smuts About CA Abstract Journal In this paper I argue that by any major definition of art many modern video games should be considered art. Rather than Contact CA defining art and defending video games based on a single contentious definition, I offer reasons for thinking that video Links games can be art according to historical, aesthetic, institutional, representational and expressive theories of art. Submissions Overall, I argue that while many video games probably should not be considered art, there are good reasons to think that Search Journal some video games should be classified as art, and that the debates concerning the artistic status of chess and sports offer some insights into the status of video games. Key