Is this art?

Something that stands out to me after browsing thru the artists posted on the class blog is what I will call the "shock artists." People that throw alot of blood, sex and WTF? in your face to get a reaction. I am all for pushing the envelope. I love when someone does something new that I have never seen or heard before but to also make that something new mean something. Make it make sense. Make it tug at your heartstrings a little or make you rethink the way you think or do things. At that point it then becomes something special to me. To just shock somebody with something that seems unacceptable doesn't take much thought or talent in my mind. I can think of hundreds of photos I could take or pictures I could paint that could shock the shit out of you and probably think of another hundred more tomorrow. But where is the talent in that? What is the statement, the beauty, the pain or emotion in that?

I mentioned earlier about pushing the envelope and I really feel that that's what these artists are tying to do. We've all seen portraits that look amazingly realistic, we've all seen paintings of breathtaking landscapes. The problem is we've seen them for what seems like forever and we are bored with them. All artist feel the need to somewhat reinvent their artform a little bit. The problem is with visual arts the artist has but one second. That initial second that you view his or her piece to make a lasting impression on you. The filmmaker could have hours, a songwriter can have up to 5 minutes to do something you have never experienced before. The visual artist has to say it all in one moment basically so that is why I feel we see so much blood, sex and WTF? To stand out from the crowd in a single moment.