In days gone by IX

In days gone by, artists revelled in the introduction of contrary ideas, imaginative new visual forms and championing the appreciation of beauty. They painted, sculpted, sketched and designed, constantly challenging the pre-conceived notions of the day. They ignored sleep and sustenance, giving birth to the term "starving artist" while surviving on the simple satisfaction of a bronze bust or a lakeside watercolour. They drank heavily, experimented with mind-altering substances and lived constantly in a whirlwind of self-destruction and unrestrained joie de vie. They lived with the courage of their convictions, all passion and fiery determination, lopping off body parts in bids to woo unrequited loves, before ending their days in local madhouses and paupers graves. Today, an artist will charge you $500 for a banana peel nailed to a discarded condom rack.