"An American Paradox"

from unitedstatesartists.org:

A country that loves art, not artists:

In a survey of attitudes toward artists in the US a vast majority of Americans, 96%, said they were greatly inspired by various kinds of art and highly value art in their lives and communities.

But the data suggests a strange paradox.

While Americans value art, the end product, they do not value what artists do, the act of creation. Only 27% of respondents believe that artists contribute “a lot” to the good of society.