What is this stuff ??

Okay folks; for those of you who have not been paying attention to the recent action:

In the last two or three decades, responding to changes in the real world's economy, the art world has developed into two opposing camps.

Over there on one side are all the art dealers, galleries, museums, university art departments, book and magazine publishers, plus a few officially authorized art object manufacturers. These folks earn their livelihoods by supplying officially certified status symbol objects to a small number of rich investors, most of whom are newly rich though various machinations of the real world's economy since about the 1980's and therefore (being highly competitive and newly rich) feel a need for officially certified status symbols, especially ones which dealers claim will likely yield a big profit when sold.

That gang is called the Art Industry. They have hijacked the great human project of making pictures. Or actually I ought to say they've only tried because, of course, they've failed.

Now turn around. There is another camp. Look over there instead. Look over there, on the far side of the railroad yard. Beneath that freeway overpass in cardboard shacks, and there across the street among those derelict trailers pulled up in that vacant parking lot, there is another camp. And look there at all that fascinating looking stuff spread out on their flea market tables and floating out against the sky like painted banners.

Those folks are what's called the Underground Artists.