Per this observation by Wordman in this thread, in response to my questioning the assertion that painting was a dying art form.
Is John Currin an important painter?
What’s the new “high art”? Are there there really any aspirational high arts anymore? Is the notion of a “high art” being more pure or finer than other expressions a false notion to begin with?
I wouldn’t put “literature” in there with the others - there’s absolutely still a reading public, and your average college-educated man on the street will recognize the names of many “literate” authors. Not so modern composers, painters, etc, and probably not most modern poets who aren’t taught in public schools (most of whom are not as modern as the novelists Tom, Dick, and Harry might know.)