Art vs. Entertainment: An Ongoing Conversation

Like so many others, I've spent a great deal of time lately on Zoom, WhatsApp, and FaceTime. With friends and family. Giving lessons. During Happy Hour. With our three-year-old's preschool class. And of course, to pow-wow and commiserate with colleagues. Performing artists of all stripes worry about if, when, and how we'll return to work.

Recently, our good friend Derrick brought his usual manifest optimism to the conversation.

"Where's the first place people go when they're suffering? Hospitals. After that, it's Art. Movies. Music. Entertainment. It's already happening. It's a need."

I'm always charmed and reassured by Derrick's attitude. And the false binary between Art and Entertainment is a conversation we have All. The. Time. Not long ago, we received a grant rejection because the panel found his extremely original music "derivative." (The panelists compared it, unflatteringly, to film music.)

The distinctions we draw between Art and Entertainment have been on my mind for, well, ever. It's no wonder: I'm a classical musician who makes my living recording the scores for movies. My professional life navigates between these two musical worlds. (I wrote about that value disparity, and the existential crises to which it lends itself, here.) And my personal life does, too. I’m married to a man who makes his living writing music for film and TV, while occasionally greasing his creative wheels in the concert world — time and opportunity permitting.

Someone please explain to me how the avengers is, by any measure, more epic than late beethoven

Mockery of Rocket Racoon aside, it's safe to say more of us are turning to Netflix than Late Beethoven right now. But is it wrong to lump them together if you zoom out far enough? And how is our current situation shaping how we perceive the difference, or lack thereof?

***

Two summers ago, I participated in the League of Orchestra Management's Essentials program. Of everything I learned, one experience has stayed with me with a quality of unease. It's the discomfort which comes with being of two minds about something. The friction of contradictory thoughts, values, and other cognitive dissonances short-circuiting, clouding clarity.

We spent an afternoon discussing the difference between Art and Entertainment. To illustrate the conversation, an imaginary alphabet was stretched across the room. "A" was for Pure Art (caps stay); "Z" was for pure entertainment. We each had to choose where to stand based on our organization's artistic approach.

I sprinted for the letter "A," and staked my turf. When asked to explain my choice, I defiantly exclaimed:

"Difference? What difference!? They are the SAME! That, in and of itself, is an artistic choice! ... And I'll have you know that this question really pisses me off!"

Two years later, I'm still thinking about both the question and the intensity of my reaction to it. I resented having to choose. Within that resentment, I was 100% sure of my choice. Today? I’d still stand at “A,” for the same basic reasons. But I’d probably bristle less.

Salastina was to present an entire program, Sounds Popular, on this subject in early May. Instead, we'll share some original arrangements on digital platforms.

The purpose of this post is to open up a broader discussion on the topic.

What is the difference between Art and Entertainment?
Why do we insist on one?
Does it matter?
What have been the consequences of it mattering?
Who gets to decide, and why?
What makes something popular?
What makes something Art?
What does it take to be both?
Are these basic categories the same everywhere?
Who cares?
What’s the purpose of each in society?
How are their functions similar?
How are they different?

Over the next few months, we'll muse about this aloud, hear from friends, and invite you to weigh in.