Art and Games

A casual glance at any conntemporary newspaper will discover that Art and Games are two different types of activity. An immediate impression might be that the main distinction between them is that the latter, but not the former, essentially entails competition, which would be inaccurate, since Solitaire is a non-competitive game. More to the point might be that games entail winning and losing, though, whether or not that entailment is essential is unclear, since some game-playing is enjoyed for its own sake as much as Art is, and both Art and Games can be a means to an ulterior purpose, such as pay or fame. Regardless, Nietzsche's Will to Power explains how a 'will to win' is no different than an Artistic drive--both aim to impose Form on their respective circumstances, e. g. on the movement of a ball as much as on paints, canvas, and brush. That is why, despite the familiar maxim, 'winning is the only thing', the highest praise accorded an athlete is not 'winner' but 'artist', a recognition of a degree of mastery over not only an opponent, but over happenstance as well. In other words, both an Artist and a Game-Player perform with greater or lesser degrees of skill. Furthermore, winning is attainment of Idionomy--i. e. the performance of a loser is dictated by that of the winner, and, hence, is heteronomous--as much as is the performance of an Artist. Thus, Art and Games are both types of Play, distinguished only by the differences of their respective media.