I guarantee that the crowd in the Park today that was snapping away with their cameras represented a broad cross section of backgrounds and that almost all might think differently after seeing the installation today.
I also guarantee that in our 21st century techno society a majority relate to abstract art more than pre-1900 fine art.
What you saw in Central Park were New Yorkers and tourists and people with enough money to travel to NYC. That's a relatively small percentage of the population. You'd see the same people in the Met on a Sunday afternoon.
The idea of something without utility that is also costly is offensive to most people. They view it as either a scam or a waste of money. The idea of spending $10,000 on a piece of art for themselves -- a relatively modest sum -- is offensive to most people, unless that piece of art increases in value.