LAST EDITED ON 10-Jan-02 AT 05:23 AM (PST)
 
Here is my take on that.

Our life became more complicated, technology, population, knowledge database, etc.
Many sciences had split into branches such as chemical physics, biochemistry, etc. Those "brunches" grew into independent "trees". However Art became even more generalized. I believe due to the luck of being an immediate necessity in a plain sense of the world - as the saying goes "The one can not tailor the coat from a thank you." The church has lost it's position and power and cannot any longer support the arts as it did before. Civil institutions, vulgar and banal by nature do not know and do not want to know how to.

Everything Art began to be administered as a a business enterprise, missing the main objective and seeing just a decorative function. Function understandable and easily acceptable for lasy and arrogant or selfcentered mind, a pleasant supplement for the ego. And as a concequence gently robbing Art and Decoration from it's respective purposes.

Here is the "punch line" There are two related but independent by now phenomena's: Art and Decoration.

The purpose of Art is through illustrating(for the luck of a better word) our irrational beliefs refine us spiritually and give us a reason and a hope.
The purpose of Decoration, is to fulfil our desires for vanity and comfort, making our lifes materially refined.

Both of this functions are of the equal importance, however, as artists, it is up to us to keep those in balance.

So, I think Art is sick of artists as well as decorators that shy away from
facing this task and this is the illness I am referring to.