True or false...

the purpose of art is to inform, sell or entertain.


True, true, and true.

However, I don't think this statement should be either/or, so much as, "Which comes first?"

There is a message behind every work of art, every song, every dance, and every literary work. As a member of the general public, we're so attuned to "hidden messages" we look for them in everything. For example, poor little Harry Potter, not only did he have to battle evil forces the likes of Lord Voldemort, but he also had to deal with critics and radicals around the world telling him he was teaching children about the occult. Supposed underlying deep issues can be found in other pop culture subjects such as, The Matrix, The Golden Compass, The Lord of the Rings and even Buffy: the Vampire Slayer.

Artists of all trades use their art as a communication medium. What message the artists are trying to convey, however, can be anything from their emotions to political issues. Either way, the art is created to inform the viewer or listener of that artist's point of view, whatever the subject matter may be.

It just so happens, in this consumer-driven world of ours, people like to be informed time and time again. What am I talking about? Record sales. Print and sculptor sales. Book sales. People buy art in order to inform themselves and the people around them. Even if they thought they were just buying that painting because it looked sophisticated and really "made" the living room, there was a part of their psyche that was somehow moved by that work of art, so much so they paid for it.

I'll let you in on a secret: art is fun. Whether you're the one creating the art or enjoying it, art is there to be used as a form of entertainment. Despite the invocation of sometimes dark, negative emotions, experiencing that art is still fun. This applies to all forms of art. Horror and thriller movie ticket sales are always high because being scared is fun - at least when you're voluntarily in that position. The same can be said for books and music as well. On one level or another, art informs and entertains. For those that peddle their art to others, it (hopefully) sells as well. Millions of people make their living off of the arts, and those people are very fortunate. They're making a living informing and entertaining - we'll call it enformtaining - even more people everywhere.

There will be those arguments, someone is going to think art is only to entertain or it is only to inform - much too deep for mere entertainment. But this writer knows that art is everything, art is everywhere and well worth the cognitive processing to figure out what it means to her.