A Wonderful (art) World

I don't think of them as labels, but as categories that help us organize.
As such, a category doesn't keep us from viewing art on its on merits. If anything, it helps us understand it, as it relates to other workdone at a particular time, etc.

It's a way of categorizing, and even sub-categorizing to let people know the era, even the location where a work was done....whether an artist was a member of a certain school of art, etc. Being OCD and always striving for order around me, I love that art has categories. I like identifying (or trying to) the various categories and schools of art....it's pretty much ingrained in you at art college :)

It's not segregation, it's organization and specialization. It's so apples can be compared to apples, and people who are interested in specific genres can see work in those genres without having to sift through unrelated things.

Imagine if libraries were just shelves filled with random books! Organization and categorization are good, when applied to objects. Not so much when applied to people. :)

As a sometime-decorator, my life would be a LOT more complicated!

It's human nature to categorize; it keeps our brains from exploding.

It seems to me you are trying to say something outside of the category itself.

"Women's Art" does not say much of anything except what gender created it and that men need not apply. "African-American Art" does the same thing for the most part. "Modern Art" now moves away from the categorizing of the maker and into a style. Anyone is welcome to jump into that world.

Distinctions are important. We seem to have crossed a new line somehow on distinguishing that allows for prejudice. PC in a sense. Selective clubs and tribes going into their perspective corners.

Well an interesting reaction to my imagining. I wasn't so much thinking of eliminating organization, but the hierarchy that often exists. I was having an idealistic daydream and invited others to do so and share where it takes them.

As I look back at my original post I realize I was horribly inarticulate. Instead of "Women's Art", I should have said women artists, and continued with black artists, etc. .
It's one thing to entertain myself with my inner musings before I've had my second cup of coffee, and quite another thing to attempt to articulate it and invite others to join me..