Has art jumped the shark after WWI?

[Alex K]

I have to come at this from more of a literature perspective, because music isn't my passion.

Take H.P. Lovecraft. [...]

Awesome example. I really need to read Lovecraft at some point...

So what then makes high art? Stuff that's been around for centuries? Stuff that's been imitated by others? Stuff that builds on certain principles and speaks to the human condition? Stuff that follows a strict set of rules?

Well that is the question, isn't it. My point of view is that so-called "high art" (as was intended in the thread title) has given up on beauty and being fun in the widest sense and has therefore divorced itself too much from the audience, much like what Deist Paladin also says. At the least, I would say high art should do more than epigonism copying nice things from the past, but should bring some innovation to the table, should somehow be authentic, but at the same time involve some level of skill or virtuosity.