[loomio]

> Maybe worst for me personally was most all straight forwardly representational work was labeled "illustrative" and discounted as "commercial."

While I find the "deskilling" of arts to be troubling, and experienced frustration at the lack of technical education as a fine arts student, this line made me realise that what might be deep underneath this is a rejection by those in search of "authentic" art in the face of rampant commodification by advertisers.

In a world where the true human value of art is judged by the proxy of commercial value, and many of the greatest talents are using their abilities not to further human culture but to sell products, it's not irrational for people to seek art that cannot be commodified. It's a collective search for authenticity that's unfortunately flailing and grasping at straws instead, of unpacking the deeper causes caught up with larger social and economic currents.