The Third Man

Pitting the arts against one another – which one might be the most sublime – may not seem to make much sense, and yet the attempt has been made over and over again and decided in favour of one’s own faculty.

The musicians argue that theirs is the highest form of art because it addresses the most ethereal sense, hearing.

Architects contend that they are the most important ones, as no culture could exist without their works because it would rain on everything.

Painting is no doubt the most people-friendly one of the arts: a brief look at a picture is enough to tell you if it’s worth looking at, whereas with a novel you should read at least as far as page 50 plus a piece of the ending in order to form some judgment, not to mention concerts and the theatre where you have to endure more or less locked up until intermission, by which time you have long ago come to the conclusion that it’s too bad you've wasted your time.

(Text: Wolfgang Lettl)