Connoisseurship vs. philistinism  

!
absurd question

Snobbery vs. pragmatism
Same question.

Yes, but the trick is to...
Yes, but the trick is to know which is which.

I can usually tell one from the other by their choice of shoes.
But then again, I've been so wrong... feet come in all shapes and sizes..or missing altogether. I need a better benchmark.
Aunt Mark

You can always tell
a reader of Ayn Rand -- they can be counted on to ask "What's in it for me ?" You know -- venality as the principle principal of nature, etc etc. Watch your wallet around these guys !
Then there are the bleeding-heart liberals -- those of whom it is said "There's a sucker born every minute." Putting these guys out of their misery (and their homes) isn't just mercy -- it's justice !
What a great world. Animal instincts abound. How did we ever get as far as Art and Culture ?

.
Read The fountainhead years ago and was entranced, pushed all the buttons, had a flick through it a couple of years ago and its just badly written insane bullshit.
I favour smoked salmon.

SDR
We got as far as "art and culture" because we built big ugly cities devoid of all relationship to nature.
Art and culture is no match for nature, but art and culture can be looked at as one of many feeble attempts to fill the void that comes with too much concrete.
(I say this as an artist (and teacher of art) for about 40 and 35 years respectively.)
There is nature and culture. Nature wins easily.

Let's see:
Man is a maker, a builder. Man makes junk, man makes art. Culture is a word I apply to the collective will to make art, and to its collective appreciation.
Nature is man's inspiration to make, to build. If we haven't done it well, we should do it better. Or should we crawl back into the jungle and give up ?

Art means sweet f*ck all to me these days...
It's either a children's project executed by an adult, a blatant attempt to be over the top or a stupid idea to challenge us intellectuals posed by someone who should by all rights be mopping a floor somewhere.
I really can't bring myself to give a toss any more.

I have no answer
Art and culture happen most and are supported most when there is a slopover of riches. You know, the last 5% cant be as important as the first 95%, so it gets convoluted. People like you and me have time to focus on luxuries. Many dont.
I have no answer.
I just think art and culture are "clumsy" attempts to re connect with something that was lost a long time ago, when compared to nature.
The best art and culture happens in the biggest, ugliest cities. There is a reason for that.
Where the nature is most beautiful, the art usually sucks.
No crawling back. I too am invested in the arts. With my whole life.

Lunchbox
LOL tell us something that we dont already know about you next time!
Funny though, you are a merchant of culture. Perhaps you feel resentment because you secretly hate all of the stuff you make money by selling?
That stuff you sell is art too, no?
You are too fucking practical to even SEE half the stuff that is there.
Just like the Noguchi base.

Geez, dude -- and you
teach art ? To innocent children ?
Oops -- got to remember to be civil, here . . .

NO
I teach art to adults in universities and art schools. Never taught below the college level.
I wouldnt have lasted for 35 years if I didnt have something to offer.
I am 90% supportive, but part of the deal is to "stir the stew" or its no longer "art"
If it doesnt stir the stew, its "craft.
Art and craft are two different things.

I like redheads...
Especially pale skinned ones, with freckles.
There you have it, something you didn't know about me.
But no, I'm not an art dealer. And no, I don't hate the stuff I sell.
And come on. "I'm too practical to see half the stuff that is there" sounds like you trying to rationalize me to yourself.
It's not that in the least. It's that I can't be arsed to even want to.