You Have to Admit: Mona Lisa Probably Has ADHD.

"Art" is a word derived from the Latin ars, which translates directly to "skill." The Romans once believed aesthetics and the skills associated with it drew the line between civilization and barbarism. Since very many were these determining factors between the Romans and those who they declared barbarians, art came in many forms. Art came in the form of music, in literature, in sculpture, and in architecture. As painting was often used by the "barbaric" nations outside Rome to the north and so on, it was not yet considered "art" to the pompous Romans. Until the fall of the Roman Empire, drawing and painting was an art marginalized and looked down upon. So why, exactly, is the human race so addicted to art? For example, among the most respected in Rome were those who produced inspiring literature, such as Cicero or Vergil. The popularity of figures in the artistic trade got the populace talking. Though it was not generally encouraged, the low-middle class youthful were often interested in becoming musicians or poets so as to rise up in society and hopefully even attend to the court of a patrician to make money. Art was a way to prove that one was educated and civilized and worthy of respect.

In a modern context, art has become more of a topic of easily accessible intellectual conversation; it has long since passed out of practical use. It wouldn't normally be able to bring an impoverished person up in society to relative well-being. Art has been divided up into four main parts: The visual arts (e.g. sculpture and paintings), film and theatre, books, and music. Are are focused on displays of skill impractical to human survival in the environment and society, but inherently pleasing to the human intellect. Recently, film and music have overtaken every other form of art, as the world becomes more and more concerned with art that actively speaks to the observer with a de-emphasis on the perception of the observer to interpret the opus. There is then the world of modern books, which has, since the late 1800's, become more focused on idealistic representations of heroes and their struggles, romance novels, and thrillers. The average person who acquires more stimulation from literary work but is still a member of the fast-lane generation enjoys books such as any of the Harry Potter books, Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, or the Twilight novels.

This popular interest is most commonly attributed with a shift in the behavioral patterns of society. The children of the new generation have been accustomed to things being explained to them as opposed to developing explanations for themselves, being in a rush to keep up with the quick pace of technology. People have less time to spend hours reading and thinking of the profound significance of a sow's head on a sharpened stick. Few stop to consider what Rodin was trying to do when he sculpted The Age of Bronze. Not to mention many kids these days are easily bored by things that do not move, change, and/or make sounds before them. A child will grow quickly bored with a doll that does not come with many interchangeable accessories. The base visual arts have fallen out of the entertainment spectrum as simply too unstimulating.

Film and books have shifted to create an environment that accomodates this shift - things are explained more clearly, concepts and morals extremely apparent (if any are to be presented as a central theme), as well as obvious and easily understandable appeals to the target demographic. Action films, especially, are guilty of this - they abide by the GBE rule (guns, boobs, and explosions must each make at least a cameo appearance if not the central action), which is directed mostly at male audiences, while very openly advertising that courage, patience, and skill will bring the ultimate victory, such as Jason Bourne, or have (in addition to GBE) some sort of flawed hero who's most probably a horrible person but has winning characteristics that make him bearable, such as Tony Stark in Iron Man. Not only this, but even the thriller novels that are popular abide by the GBE rule - and on top of that, sometimes even appeal to women by adding in emotional angst or something regarding shiny vampires or unicorns or something - such as Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown. A good example of a thriller novel tailored to the needs of the new reading public, Angels and Demons contains guns, boobs, and explosions, has a mystery novel plot that is fully explained in the end so that the person can very easily understand everything that happened, if one had the patience to sit down and read the whole thing.

Music, however, overcomes the stigma of being influenced by the growing amount of ADHD in the new generation, in that it has more of a personal feeling. Music has moved to a direct communication with a target audience from a general appeal with intricate and multilayered sounds that create imagery without words or pictures - though this move has not occured recently; it was more of a 20th century movement in art culture. Popular music becomes popular because of its personal connection with lifestyles, personalities, or experiences of the target demographic, either with theme or musical tone (perhaps because people's lives finally became interesting). As a result, the image of art to the new generation has become one of self-expression instead of conveying profound messages, even more so than before in the century. For example, it happens that the new Green Day Album, "21st Century Breakdown," mentions the story of a young couple of the "Class of '13." Consequently the album's target audience is young teenage (girls) beginning high school, with all the angst and instability and insecurity jam packed within the album to make such an appeal. As music grows more personal, those who like the same music may be very similar in habit and mindset. As such, music is a very popular conversational topic amongst nearly every person who exposes himself to it.

Art in modern culture today has become an appeal to the self and the growing hyperactivity of the minds of the populace. Though it isn't necessarily a good thing that our attention spans are suffering, the development of art in tandem with technology in modern society has caused art to appeal on a very personal level to its audience and observers. Art has become mostly music, film, and fiction; actively changing and constantly differing with time and progression, as the world itself is. Perhaps the modern human adores art so much because it's simply a reflection of himself in different media, whether he realizes it or not.