Has anyone else noticed the recent graffiti-as-high-art phenomenon? (as opposed to graffiti that evolved into art, aka Basquiat.) I have a cousin who in deeply entrenched in that scene, so maybe I feel its presence more intensely than most. Ben Lewis, of the Evening Standard in London, writes an interesting and challenging review of a show on the OUTSIDE of the Tate Modern.

On a related note, I have been reading so much lately about the candidates and their need to essentially "dumb things down", and downplay any aspects of their lives that reek of elitism, in order that they might appeal to "the general public". This phenomenon causes me to scratch my head, and it makes me wonder about possible parallels in the contemporary art world, as a new kind of collector appears to drive the art market, and consequently, the art world, in a different direction.

And at Ed Winkleman's, they are discussing the pros and cons of serving wine at openings.