There is a divide between values I've been taught at art school and values that are generaly used to judge work online.
Conceptual art emphasises the value of the ideas over the object. Ideas being made more important than technical skills so in situations where they are mutually exclusive, the technical skills are dropped out.
Art I've encountered online is mainly illustrative with ideas subordinate to skills.
This is part of the difference between fine art and illustration.

Conceptual art originated during the cold war. I see it in some ways as being an excuse for crap artists to make their work relevant using the justification that learning skills would make no difference since the world was supposedly on the brink of endng.
Conceptual art is a brand of fine art.

My conceptual art schools most annoying belief is that sculpture and more physical works are superior to images. For art that is supposedly contemporary and cutting edge they seem to be stuck in an extremely dated mind set. Its unarguable that images can be destirbuted and have more effect with the advent of the internet. The amount of images we encounter online versus the sculptures we see in gallerys is extremely dispraportionate. As we becoming more transnational I would argue that images are in fact more relevant than sculptures situated in butt fuck nowhere.

Norman Rockwell, the dean of American illustrators explained the difference between fine art and illustration quite clearly.
He said illustration was more demanding because the illustrator works to satisfy his client(or audience) while the fine artist works without restrictions and having to make sense to others. The illustrator is putting an idea to an audience while the fine artist is exploring it by himself.

What is the value of an idea if only one person understands it? How is that relevant to an audience? Conceptual art dosen't live in the real world. Conceptual artists don't either. They load their speech with as difficult to understand language as possible and still need to wave their arms as if trying to grasp their ideas when talking. Confusing outsiders about ideas they don't even understand is the only way they can give value to their farce.

I'm all for ideas in art. I'm also not a strict adherant to realism.
I believe in the idea of story truth vs happening truth discussed by Tim O'Brien in his book "The Things They Carried". O'Brien, a veteren of the Vietnam war said that presenting simple facts and not having any emotional affects on the reader is less truthful than presenting something that is technically false but creates a truthful impression for the reader.
If the abstraction of the work helps the viewer to understand the idea it is relevant. If its the only way to present the idea (due to the need for time compression of an event or expressing impressions from senses an image can't normally engage with) then it is relevant.
If it is because the artists ideas have no relation to reality(conceptual,hands must be waved to grasp the idea) its just fucking stupid.

When introducing New Zealand army artist Captain Matt Gauldie's work, Major General Lou Gardiner drew attention to what the ways of professional soldiering and artists have in common. "Dedication to the perfection of and advancement of(...) skills" and a "never-ending quest for increased competence, sensitivity to new circumstances and using(their) judgement to make the correct decesions".

Concentration on the overall quest for perfection and not being an egotistical moron with his head up his ass is what the artist should strive towards. Fine arts are well and good but in no way superior to illustration. Both ideas and skills need to be balenced in order to create work that is relevant.
Conceptual artists in general, are idiots who play with irrelevant ideas.


Of course like everyone else my quest is never ending and my understanding of this topic will continue to grow with my practice. So I welcome any comments and debate.

You know what would be sweet. Doing art for the army like Captain Gauldie. Then my work would actually be authentic. I was blown away by his exhibition and they even gave me a free book. >:]
Anyone keen to give me a job? :] (so I won't have to go back to art school in two weeks:[)
This guy's job would be sweet. [link]

I'll have an oil painting up by next monday and hopefully my digital up by then too. [link]

EDIT:
Concept art for games etc is not to be confused with conceptual art. Concept art is an offshoot of illustration while conceptual art is part of fine art. Concept art is about conveying visual representation of an idea to an audience as opposed to playing with the idea by yourself(conceptual art).