Fascinating post, thanks for your input. I'm glad to know there are actual artists out there like you. I've always worn my disdain for the art world as a badge of honor because of the people you described. I'm more into the art of film/video personally, and it kills me to see what's passed off as "genius" sometimes. Like the galleries you rightly rail against, all it takes in the film/video world is a little anger, nudity, and filth before the so-called "experts" fall all over themselves praising it.
Hopefully, the arts you and I love will turn around.