Simplify ART.

Photograph of installation by Anish Kapoor (he's beyond brilliant)

It seems like a lot of art today is difficult to understand and relate to. I've often struggled when looking at work, thinking perhaps it was wayyyy too conceptual or intellectual for me. Although that might be the case I suspect that some of the stuff out there is just plain silly, gratuitous, and self-indulgent.
Okay granted, we live in a very fast, consumer paced culture which doesn't necessarily facilitate in slowing us down enough to take in all this super sensitive stuff. Often times, great work requires that we spend time with it before it reveals and rewards us with it's full power. An important aspect of art should be to provide this kind of opportunity where we are left better off because we've learned something about the world around us, or even better... something about ourselves.
I've always felt that smart people are able to articulate the most complicated of ideas. I think that this should be the moral responsibility of gallery owners, curators and museum directors. It's not about being exclusive but inclusive, great art can make us great people!