^ it is interesting, the whole 'art market vs. art' debate.

We currently are living in a time of "icons" ....contemporary western culture is constantly looking for instant cultural "statements" and "expressions" -- even in the auto-industry.

Jeff Koons heart sculpture is a bold [if superficial] icon -- it is cold and banal -- modeled directly from the kind of cheap throw-away heart balloon you might buy a girlfriend for Valentines day. I agree with you to a degree that the art world has become an industry -- this is something that agitates me also.