I would find this article hilarious if I weren&#x27;t horrified that people may take it seriously.<p>In the 50s, people could identify Buckminster Fuller, Saul Bellow, or Jackson Pollock. Many educated people now could identify Frank Gehry, Toni Morrison, or Jeff Koons. But having a cadre of public artists who &quot;shape in meaningful ways our image of ourselves or define our collective values&quot; is a very narrow way framing the issue and has not been the trajectory of art for decades, if ever.<p>Look at that reception to Marina Abramović&#x27;s <i>The Artist is Present</i>. People stood in line for hours. I saw a segment about it on CBS Sunday Friggin&#x27; Morning. The public is engaged with art, it&#x27;s just not the art that the writer wants them to be engaged with.