Art vs. Product

This page exists to give a distinction for game purposes between what is original created work and what is the reproduction of art that is made by other persons.

Product

Most of what a bard produces is Product. The songs sung at the tavern are familiar songs, the meter used to write a poem is a familiar meter, the story and movements made by a puppeteer are well-known, the food by a gastronomist is commonplace and recognizable. This is what most bards do ~ they take the stock forms of their individual artistic backgrounds and transform them to make proficient, workaday, conventional reproductions therefrom.

Most bards never do anything else. Common bards have a small collection of things they know, a repertoire that will grow as they become more able at their craft. But this improvement is not "original" ~ it is merely a better copy. Over time, it only looks unique and artistic because the masses are not sophisticated nor engaged enough in the field of art to recognize the difference between something new and different and something that is substantially reshaped from a previous bard's work.

Those inside the profession, however, know. The creators themselves are perfectly aware of the stealing they've done.

Art

This is the making of something original, something that has never been seen or conceived of before. Though part of an artwork may include elements that are substantially product, there will be an important element that subverts or completely alters the perspective of the viewer, including that of other bards. Art is that from which product is made. The creation of art is difficult and rare, often resulting in disappointment.

See Also,

Creativity

Make Art

Sukha