Thoughts on "Pearls Before Breakfast"

Mike Johnson over at TOP has produced a very thoughtful follow up to the experiment that the previous entry discussed. One argument being that approximately 3% notice rate is actually quite good! Many of his commenters noted that there was a similarity between this experiment and his notorious "Great Photographers on the Internet" post.

My personal comments, in no particular order are

• Do need Art, or any other form of entertainment, to be in context for it to be truly appreciated? What if the Mona Lisa were graffiti? Would it then be treated with the same reverence that it is?
• Is Art entertainment? Should the presentation change depending on the circumstances in which it is presented? Would Joshua Bell have been better off playing in a Clown costume for example?
• Is there an element of "Emperor's new clothes" syndrome? Because the artist is "good" then we should always notice that artist? Or is it more important that our perception and appreciation of the artist is personal and shouldn't be governed by what other members of society dictate?

These sort of things could keep me awake at night!