Vaderisnothayden said:
Art is not about sending messages.

Art is almost always about sending some type of message. By it's very definition, art is visceral. It is a creator's way of expressing thoughts or emotions so that others might also experience or understand them. You may not dig the message, and in fact a person may even be offended by it, but it's not an abuse of some higher, pure medium.

Even the most base or serene paintings are the artists' way of saying something about whatever it was that inspired them. Just because a piece isn't a Basquiat, that doesn't mean it's not sending a message. The same goes for any form - sculpture, music, writing, film, etc.

Artists don't go to the trouble because they have nothing better to do that day. They create because something moved them emotionally and they either want to share it, warn against it, or preserve it. Whatever their reasons, it's a message.