I'm a rambling man.

I read somewhere that art acts as a warning sign of the times. That art can be the canary in the coal mine, a sign of the degradation or elevation of society. And I think that's entirely true, as I watch art become more and more diluted and less and less concerned with any thought process outside of self gratification I wonder if the canary in that analogy is dead. It might have died in the 1960's with Warhol creating art to mock the way society idolizes itself. What an interesting machine our society really is, the grander and more extreme it gets, the more attention it receives with the art world in front of the reins. A lot of contemporary art serves no purpose other than to gratify itself. It "attacks" our values and then waits for us to congratulate it, like a dog looking for a treat after biting our hand, but again at the same time you need to stop and wonder how you ended up in that predicament in the first place. I mean if you find yourself wondering at how art could have gotten so bad I think you might need to stop and wonder how we let "bad" art elevate itself to that level. Art that doesn't compel you doesn't instantly become noteworthy by itself.

either way it's late and I'll try to finish this rant later.