Long time no news post, however something has grabbed my attention as of late.

Something i believe is worth writing about. Someone boldly stated to me: 'Anime is not Art fool!' and i replied, slightly irritated, 'Anime is art! if its not, tell me what is!'

And then there was some heated debate which I won’t go into details with. But it did get me thinking:
a) Why don’t people consider anime art?
b) Can anime really be considered a legitimate art form?



I guess to understand this we'll need a little context. Get out your history books kiddos!

<sub>When i think manga i think cartoons, however its origins go much further back then that (800 years!), and began as drawings in temples. The pictures can be considered forerunners of modern day manga because of their hard edged, often exaggerated contour. In the 1600's this new style of drawing began to be replicated on wooden blocks, and by the 1700's books began to be developed. It should be noted that these books and wooden drawings were aimed predominantly at an adult audience! Over the next century 'manga' books began to be developed and soon became a defined form of literature in Japan.

With the development of animation in America and Europe, Japan too, began to release their own films known as 'Anime'. In 1940 over 40% of the countries filmic output was anime, and although in the western world these 'cartoons' were adored by children, in Japan it was enjoyed by people of all ages.</sub>

And that marks the end of the contextual information paragraph/s. Now..



a) why don’t people consider anime art?
Now this is a tough question considering i cant speak for everyone in this world, (and there are alot of people, alot of opinionated people remember!), this is really my opinion, so in your replies (if i get any ha-ha) I challenge you to think about this, and answer it for yourself!

Personally I think its because people don’t understand what art is (but then again who does..). To call anime 'art' you have to understand what art is, and although you may just whip out your dictionary and look it up under 'A' its not that simple - art lacks a proper definition, and in the end it all relies on your context (the way you have been brought up) and personal opinion.

For example, a person who has been brought up watching anime will have a different opinion to someone who hasn’t. In my case, I’ve been educated in Art history to the point where i have a huge appreciation for art of any form.

So, the bottom line is, define art for yourself.
and see if anime falls into that category.
Because we cant even start to say what something is or isn’t, if we don’t understand what 'it' is first.



b) Can anime really be considered a legitimate art form?
This is an age old question, and it’s almost like deja vu, because so many times in history we have challenged what art is. I find the best example to be the Abstract Expressionists. Could you call a canvas splattered with paint art? The past me is screaming 'Hell no!', and the present me is saying, 'Why yes you can'. The moment Jackson Pollock spontaneously splattered paint all over his canvas he was creating art. Abstract, expressionist art; art that was created from his inner feelings. Don’t we all feel that? Whenever we pick up our pen and draw, its like our feelings are the ink. Right?

Anime artists draw from their feelings like the abstract expressionists. We use hard edged contours and benday dots like the pop artists. Some of us work from every day experience adding our own flair like the Dadaists. Others focus on light and colour, like the Impressionists and Heidelberg artists.

The point is:

If you can call Jackson Pollocks 'Number 31' art.
(abstract form)
If you can call Claude Monets 'White water lilies' art.
(focus on light)
If you can call Andy Warhols 'Campells soup' art.
(hard edged contour, Lichtensteins use of benday dots)
If you can call Marcel Duchamps 'Bicycle wheel' art.
(every day influence, for me that’s going to school)
If you can call Leonardo Da vinci's 'Mona Lisa' art.
(portrait, ambiguous expression)

Then an unconscious part of you is calling anime art!