SURE... BUT IS IT "ART"?

Today, I wanted to talk about the concept of miniature painting as a valid art form. Art, like beauty, is a purely subjective concept - but as individuals who share certain interests (painting minis and usually gaming with them), I think we have a certain common ground as to what we could objectively call "art".

For most of my painting "career", I never really thought of painting miniatures as a form of art. In fact, it wasn't until recently that my perspective began to change. Two of my friends are painters and illustrators in a more "traditional" sense, but they also happen to be gamers and I've faced each of them across the 40K table before. Coincidentally, they both play the same faction - Eldar. I'm not sure if that's indicative of anything.

David Crowell is a man of many talents - an exceptional gamemaster, humanitarian, art proprietor, naturalist and painter who lives in the Adirondacks in Northern NY. His "plein air" paintings naturally feature outdoor scenes, often those of coastlines, forests and fishing. But he's also painted gaming miniatures and written for tabletop gaming supplements.

Jason Ballard is an illustrator, gamer and beer connoisseur, whose largest paintings have been human-sized (by means of a paintball gun). He has done commercial illustrations for several card games including Shadowfist and Legend of the Five Rings. He's also been known to paint and play with gaming miniatures as a hobby.

Both of these friends made me look at this hobby differently, as an art form. It was due to their responses to my compliments on their own art work. I'm not at all talented at illustrating or drawing on a flat, blank surface - I've often said that if you handed me a sharp pencil, I'd be more likely to draw blood than anything else. Admiring their pictures, I noted that I could never imagine painting as well as either of them did. They both responded in a similar fashion, saying something along the lines of "You paint these amazing miniatures, better than I have ever done... and you tell me you have no artistic talent?"

That was some serious food for thought. Many traditional elements of art are present in this hobby - choice of colors and color schemes, shading and highlighting, simulation of scale and verisimilitude, a wide degree of artistic interpretation and portrayal, use of paints and brushes... the only real difference in this hobby is the particular medium to which these materials and techniques are applied. Instead of a canvas, we apply them to a tiny model. For those who indulge in conversions and customizations, there's even a certain element of sculpture to what we do.

So why, I begin to ponder, is the hobby of miniature painting not typically considered an art form, even by those of us who participate in it? Is it because the figures are often used for tabletop gaming, which has fought for its own validity for nearly 40 years? Is it because gaming is regarded by some as a "childish" or immature pastime? Or is it just because properly appreciating a well-painted miniature is best accomplished by someone who is familiar with the game from which it originates?

I have seen some absolutely epic miniatures and dioramas that would put to shame some of the more "traditional" art works I've seen in museums. And I've seen many miniatures that were inspired, directly or indirectly, by well-regarded works of fantasy artists such as Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo. It cannot be coincidence that Vallejo created his own line of paints and supplies for miniature and model painters.

And it makes me wonder - would some of the most popular classical artists have indulged in this hobby, had it been available to them at the time? I can imagine that DaVinci would have found tabletop gaming to be quite fascinating, and might well have designed rules for miniatures he sculpted and painted by himself. I can envision a "painterly" tabletop army by VanGogh, and I have no doubt at all that Michelangelo would have an absolutely rockin' Blood Angels army. But that's all just speculation; until someone invents a time machine we have no way to know for sure.

Ultimately, art is, at its essence, a form of creative expression. There can be no doubt that this hobby qualifies as "art" under that most basic definition. Roger Ebert may not have considered gaming an art form, in spite of it possessing all of the elements that make movies an art form - narrative, continuity, setting a scene, characters - but we, as gamers, know better.

So now that you see how easily we can regard this hobby as a valid form of artistic expression, it is my hope that this will inspire you to seek that artist within yourself. Find that creative spark of imagination that will take you beyond just slathering some paint onto a tiny toy soldier, and let these little models become true works of ART!