Art isn't dead.

Our culture is slowly being subverted by materialism and people manipulating simple desires into control and indifference. This has always been the nature of power in cultures. Art is only dead if the artists submit to the powerful and forget their purpose. Art cannot die, but the will of the artist to care and try to make a difference can. And that happens on an individual level, so as long as there is one idealistic artist alive, art exists.
I just think that your idea that art is dead reflects a general malaise that creativity can make a difference in our contemporary culture, but I think a culture dies out if it looses integrity and a sense of purpose, to be replaced by one with ideals which matter to the people in the culture.

Michael Krasowitz

artist - New-York