>I think one could find analogous questions in the realm of "everyday
>life." Why in the '40s did people pay to have their woodwork painted
>over (or paint it over themselves) -- and in the '70s paid to have
>the paint stripped. Or why will MOMA pay $X for this painting, but
>$3X for that painting.
>
>Not all questions are answerable.
The MOMA example works. Your first one, not so much. The Olsens probably think of themselves as artists:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/00995878-f8e3-11df-99ed-00144feab49a.html#axzz1WSzyqtqx
Next weekend luminaries of the art and fashion worlds will be converging on Miami for the Art Basel Miami Beach art fair but they are not the only sign of the increasingly close relationships between the worlds of fashion and art..... "Even though I'm a fashion designer, I would also class myself as an artist", says Edinburgh College of Art graduate Iona Crawford, who launched her eponymous women's wear label in 2007. Along with Holly Fulton, Mary Katrantzou and Michael van der Ham, Crawford is spearheading the current boundary-blurring trend.