Does the artist always know the way? can they really explain in some water tight way what their work is all about? surely if we knew everything, there would be no point in doing it at all, creativity is like exposing a little of the soul, if i could draw or sketch my thoughts, there would be no point in doing the work, its already done. As artists we draw a map and expect the audience to complete the journey.
I am amazed at some of the ways an art student feeling stress and anxiety tries to explain what, why and where, sometimes there is just no explanation, i suggest that the death and decay of some art works and contemporary art is the theory it finds itself drowning in; there is a place for theory and explanantion but there is a time for silence and contemplation to, there is still the last breath of elitism in Fine Art, but its rasping.
Photography and the media has altered how we view works of art; perhaps the 'romantisim' of painting has gone forever, photography prostituted itself and now reaches the same prices as painting and other arts, it has changed society and altered perceptions; as Benjamin suggestted "we have lost our innocense", art is not art anymore, it has become commodity; a market place and sold to the highest bidder, perhaps the bubble has burst, making Damien Hirst selling his works in the auction rooms more interesting.