Well, I have actually studied the subject; got a BA in graphics and a master of fine arts degree, even, and it is my Expert Informed Opinion that "Art" is not a particularly Useful Category. I am a traitor to my class.

"Art" is good for Talking About Things, if you've agreed on a definition, or if you're trying to arrive at a definition, but as a standard of what you should hang on your wall it's not much good.

**My Theory** is you should hang things on your wall that you like to look at, & that's it.

Whether you like it because it's Art, or because it's your girlfriend, or because your two-year old did it, or because it reminds you of that great movie, or because it matches your couch -- whatever -- it don't matter; you don't have to have an excuse for why you like it.

And some works I like better than others, but I can't really rank them in any order; Art, as somebody (Duchamp?) said, isn't a horse race. And then I have a personality defect that makes me unable to rate things on a scale from 1 to 10. All those decisions.

Ruben's paintings have wonderful & beautiful brushwork, but the subjects & composition tend to the pompous and flatulent, and anyway most of them were painted at least partly by apprentices. But if you like them, why listen to me?

clint