Other thought on the art thing

The bigger art issue (in building an audience, as in other things), is of course our dualistic (at the society level) thinking that we can only move in one direction, that we have to have polar opposites where one side wins and one side loses, and in case of schools (for example) we push for more math and science at the expense of the arts, so we're also not growing that general appreciation for the arts across the board from an early age.  We say it doesn't have "value" (meaning earning potential, I guess...arts have plenty of value in any other sense) and we cut the funding, cut the programs.  And you know art and music should be required, because it helps in other ways of thinking, and it makes life so much more enjoyable.  To take it out of the schools makes it elitist, because it falls into who can afford private lessons (and those are great too, for instruction), and away from a general appreciation, and the ability to explore different possibilities in your life from an early age.  We're closing doors before people have even seen what's on the other side instead of offering a world of possibilities...and that's just tragic.