Mmm, I think it has raised an awareness that art does not have to be such a specialized activity, e.g., purely the realm of professional artists. True, it's become stratified in its own way, but at its best I think it's encouraged creative people who otherwise would not put the effort forward to create. And in a small percentage of the attendees, they take that 'no audience' thing to heart and incorporate artistic expression into their everyday world. 'We Balinese have no art, we do everything as well as we can' goes the old saying. For some people, BM may give them license to be a bit less restricitve in their workaday world. Even if the result is just finding creative ways to consume resources.

I know that when I don't have a band, I'm less inclined to write music, because there is no venue for it. 'Nobody will hear these songs but me,' I think, and unless a song grabs me by the lips and writes itself through me, I might not make the effort. Same reason I'm more likely to write in a blog than in a diary. By the same token, a would-be sculptor or industrial artist may not go through the considerable effort if the only place to showcase it is an exclusive gallery that requires an agent, an art degree, connections, money, and so forth. But anyone can display their art at BM, if they put the effort in and pay the fee. This acts as a catalyst for other would-be artists. And the notoriety BM has garnered has possibly opened doors in other venues for different kinds of art in otherwise exclusive venues.

It's certainly not the only art festival out there, but it's the brand name for egalitarian art. In the same way that when someone wants a soda they ask for a Coke. Whether or not it's what they really want. BM is a case of the right business model at the right time & place. It's certainly not counterculture in any way. It just makes hedonism accessible.

I'm not trying to gush about it, but I do feel it has, if not caused, at least been at the forefront of reflecting changing attitudes about art. I would say that has more to do with instant global communication breaking down the specialization of functions that literacy engendered for hundreds of years. But who cares about that when you can run around in a fur suit with a squirtgun full of liquid ecstasy?