“Beyond a narrow, elite audience, there is a pervasive sense from the side of the public that much contemporary art fails to connect - a failure not evident throughout centuries of earlier art.” ArtSidesAudienceFailingCenturyContemporaryElitesEvidentContemporary Art Author:John Walford
“In the century that has just passed, many of the intellectual elite went mad. It was as if, with the death of God, everyone suddenly turned into a saviour who wanted either to annihilate the obsolete world order or to establish a utopia. Naturally, there were writers among those who went mad. The fact that they had knowledge did not exempt intellectuals: there is madness everywhere. When one loses control over one's self, the result is madness.” IfsWorldSelfFactsWantedOrderLosesResultsCenturyIntellectualMadnessMadElitesUtopiaSaviourObsoleteWorld Order Author:Gao Xingjian
“Some crafts have been practiced for centuries. These crafts were created using skills passed from generation to generation, and were motivated by necessity such as baskets and pottery, or artistic expression, such as more baskets and more pottery. Today, there is a much more leisurely attitude toward crafting, and virtually anyone without a job and access to pipe cleaners can join the elite society of crafters.” Has BeensTodayJobsAttitudeGenerationsCenturyExpressionSkillsAccessCraftsArtisticMotivatedElitesHobbiesPipeBasketsCleanersPotteryArtistic ExpressionCrafters Author:Amy Sedaris
“Detachment is the prerogative of an elite; and as the dandy is the nineteenth century's surrogate for the aristocrat in matters ofculture, so Camp is the modern dandyism. Camp is the answer to the problem: how to be a dandy in the age of mass culture.” MatterProblemAgeCultureAnswersModernCenturyMassCampsElitesDetachmentNineteenth CenturyPrerogativeSurrogatesDandyMass CultureDandyism Book:A Susan Sontag reader Source: A Susan Sontag reader
“The earthquake in Haiti was a class-based catastrophe. It didn't much harm the wealthy elite up in the hills, they were shaken but not destroyed. On the other hand the people who were living in the miserable urban slums, huge numbers of them, they were devastated. Maybe a couple hundred thousand were killed. How come they were living there? They were living there because of-it goes back to the French colonial system-but in the past century, they were living there because of US policies, consistent policies.” PeopleHandsPastNumbersClassCenturyPolicyHugeCoupleThousandHundredHarmDestroyedMiserableHillsConsistentWealthyElitesUrbanCatastropheEarthquakesHaitiDevastatedSlumsHuge Numbers Author:Noam Chomsky