Defining Art

So the Shepard Fairey story keeps getting better. Yes, I reported on his arrest last week, and by reported I posted a link. But today's boston.com has an article addressing the ordeal all over again. Below is my favorite quote

"I'm sure a lot of people look at these charges and consider them kind of trivial, but this is not a trivial issue," said Anne Swanson, who cochairs the Graffiti NABBers for the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. "Here we spend $1 million a year cleaning up the mess that thousands of people leave behind and we're supposed to pretend this is a higher level art form. . . . The stuff we're removing doesn't appear to be art. It's just pure vandalism."

Her argument regarding what is art kind of annoys me. Personally, I love the traditional stuff and will admit that often the modern stuff leaves me confused. But, I have come to terms with the fact that art is something that is truly hard to define. I'm sure you all remember the elephant dung ball art pieces of the early 2000s. Yeah...I really do have a ridiculous memory.