What is Art?

According to Scott McCloud, art is “any human activity which doesn’t grow out of either of our species’ two basic instincts: survival and reproduction” (164.1). Thanks to this very broad definition there is not much that would be excluded from the list. This very all-encompassing definition allows for comics to be called art even though it is an art form which has been greatly snubbed by those who practice and study the more “noble” arts of literature and painting. McCloud seeks to situate comics within the larger sphere of art, thus legitimizing the form. As mentioned in class however, McCloud goes on to make distinctions between those artists who create comics for the economic payoff and those who are truly invested in comics as an art form. I agree that he seems to have somewhat of an axe to grind with those artists who have garnered popularity and financial stability from their work; it goes along with the idea of the “starving artist” in that those who creating art for arts sake are not frequently rewarded with fame within their lifetimes.
In the end, McCloud is a cheerleader for the future of the graphic novel: “Comics offers tremendous resources to all writers and artists: faithfulness and control, a chance to be heard far and wide without fear of compromise…it offers range and versatility with all the potential imagery of film and painting plus the intimacy of the written word” (212.2). More than a work of theory, “Understanding Comics” is a tool to recruit new artists to join the cause of exploring and solidifying the future of comics in the realm of art.