The inconvenient truth about art

How do you put all forms of artistic expression in a measurable bucket?  Every gallery, viewer, jury panel member has its own preconceived notions of what art is, and what it should be.  Some is made to express a feeling, a thought, an opinion, or even send a message.  At its core, all art is is a form of communication -but when measured, it can’t be compared or put in a well-organized drawer.  No artist can be conpared to another.  Worth cannot be determined with comparisons.

So then, what is the true worth of art?  I believe this can only be determined subjectively - a discussion in itself - but looked at on a grander scale, art should be observed and analysed as a communication resulting of the influence of the surrounding environment upon the artist.  Artists do not HAVE a voice - they ARE a voice.  How they feel, what they think, what they say is wholly and completely the result of them mentally digesting their environment.  Therefore, the communication put forth by art is a dot on the radar of society, and of the world.  We can get a sense of what the world was like during certain periods by reviewing the the art created then and there. Art, and all forms of artistic expression, is a mirror of our world. Its worth is for us all to look at ourselves and what surrounds us - the good, bad, the beautiful and the ugly.