Has art jumped the shark after WWI?

[Jenny A]

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Emotional connection with the medium? Really? Many artists do have an emotional connection with their mediums be that word, the violin, their own voice, oil paint, marble, wood, or their own bodies as in dance. But that rarely, if ever, is the point. It's emotional connection with the subject that's necessary.

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True, but my point was that it's the emotional connection with the medium that truly draws out the creative inspiration in the artist.

Not necessarily. There certainly are artists who are all about exploring their emotional connection with the medium or who have a deep emotional connection to their medium. But often it's not emotional connection with the medium, but rather facility with the medium that allows the artist express the subject creatively.

Sometimes emotional connection to the medium can even get in the way. I am enamored (emotionally connected to even) to a particular watercolor technique to the point that my first question when looking at a subject is can use this technique? That doesn't always result in the best paintings. Commitment to the subject does.

I strongly disagree. If the result is not good, the fact that the process was a journey (even a deep emotional one) for the artist won't make it any better art. You are mistaking art therapy for art.

I'm not saying that it doesn't ultimately come down to the final product. I'm saying that it's impossible to completely separate the final product from the process that created it, therefore the process comes into consideration.

When self critiquing perhaps. But the for the viewer, or listener, or reader, the process leading up to the final work is usually irrelevant. I love fresco, but knowing the process or even seeing the preliminary sketches and reading about what the artist was attempting to do, may be interesting ultimately the process is irrelevant to evaluating the final work though it may have everything to do with whether the artist was able to achieve great work.

Let me give you an non-art example. Two men both run the 100 yard dash very fast. For one of them it's almost entirely a natural gift or maybe just a matter of pride. For the other running is a driving emotional force in his life. The second man may be more interesting to read about. But ultimately the question is which of them runs faster.