When you think of art, you think of fancy homes, snooty conversation, sipping wine with the pinky turned outward ever so subtly.  You think of Chelsea galleries with attendants who aren't interested in helping but rather are interested in an image.  You may feel that art is beyond your understanding or something only a certain group or class of people can appreciate.  Not true.  As I wrote earlier, art is a part of our culture.  Think of what we know from 5 centuries ago.  Religion, philosophy, books, art, music, architecture.  Sure, this is not an all exhaustive list, but art is way up there on what is passed down from one period of time to the next.  You should know about art, just as you should know about music.