A nation lives by its myths and heroes. Many societies have survived defeat and invasion, even political and economic collapse. None has survived the corruption of its picture of itself. High and popular art are not in competition here. Both may help citizens decide what they are and what they admire. In our age, however, high art has given up speaking to the body of its fellow citizens. It devotes itself to technical displays that can appeal only to other technicians.
E. Christian Kopff, The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition
american-culture, art-and-life, art-theory, culture, high-art, ideals, myth, pop-art