Korsmeyer: Anderson and Suzuki pp. 19-32 and 55-58; Oguibe, "Play Me the 'Other"'

I found this reading a little easier to handle and understand. However I still feel a bit confused.

In Oguibe, "Play Me the 'Other,"' William Wilson is introduced and critized for his "childlike" drawings. It says "he was compelled by an innate force to invent a language of the sign." The passage goes on to discuss and compare Francesco Clemente's work with that of Wilson. It is said that the childlike art is considered new in the West, and by Western Artists, however because Wilson is not from the west his work is seen as a primative and low standard. Because Wilson is subjected to demands put on his work by Galleries, critics, collectors, etc. he has to produce work that meets those demands. The passage also talks about how these people come with these demands set for Wilson's work, and when the work doesn't consist of what they are expecting they become disinterested. Still I am confused as to this "Other" the passage speaks of. Are they talking about accomedating to society and what they expect of his work, instead of following his own desire or understanding of his subject matter?

In Anderson's I found my first definition of Aesthetics- theories about the fundamental nature and value of art. The passage talks about the Greeks and how they thought art was simple. Mnemosyne had a daughter, Calliope, who gave the world the gift of art. The article also talks about how Mythology's goal is to give us an understanding to our "contradictory and chaotic lives." I found this interesting and never thought of Mythology that way. Aesthetics is also the theories that centuries of history have interpreted. Art can be as simple as an eskimo parka or a child's play toy. Art doesn't come with a definition. Everyone and every culture creates thier own definiton. I find this extremely true even today. Art is so subjective to it's viewer. I could look at a work by Picasso and wonder why it's in a museum because to me it seems too simple or childlike for a grown man, on the other hand there is someone who obviously thinks differently from me because it is in a museum. Art doesn't come with a defintion, I agree with Anderson, Art is the subject of the viewer.

Why are there artists considered childlike in our major art museums?
Why are they so appealing to the public?
Why do there seem to be extremely different views and takes on art in the different time periods?