Amy: What do people buy, music or art? Do millions flock to any
   manifestation of visual culture as they do to any one of a number of
   music acts that are out there? Do millions buy reproductions of
   anything that might be categorized as visual art (leaving aside the
   kitschy Christs, which though visual, do not bear the imprint of a
   creator) as they do records of any one of a number of musical
   manifestations from Green Day to the Three Tenors?

   I think that music is bound up in our culture in a way that the visual
   arts might once have approximated, but have entirely abandoned.  So, I
   entirely disagree that visual symbols have more emotional impact then
   music.  Do you care more about the flag or the Beatles (your favorite
   group here?)

   This is not just a trivial tangent: though people get het up about the
   violence and general anomie of rap music, there is something specific
   about the forced sanctity with which art people wrap the artistic act
   that I am questioning.

   In this regard, it is interesting to hear that this vile flag exhibit
   was actually a cultural history exhibit, in which the offending flag
   works were intended to illustrate an historical moment.  That entirely
   changes the vibe for me, and I am glad that whoever posted that
   summary of the exhibit offered us the opportunity to make more
   informed judgements than Newt was making.

  Eric Siegel
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