for the sake of all gits here, i have to argue for i haven't argue since .... it's been too long! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />
i would support nature reserve & parks rather than man-made art.
now don't take me wrong. art, especially fine art, which is most used as example & for some, highlight of anything art, is a testament of creativity of humankind in display on a flat medium. of course there are other kinds of art which mark heights of civilisations & therefore recorded historical events & such which make art more than just aesthetics.
however if cashflow is tight & severely limited, holding on to the past, that is art, is just not possible when compared with something at least equal in importance; nature. nature is to be preserved even at the cost of the arts. after all, it is nature that inspires art & not otherwise so where art fades away with time, nature endures & continues to inspire.
another point that i feel makes nature takes precedence over art is that art is very much subjective & the saying, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" says much more. what people who swoon at monet may not do so for chinese paintings, whoever that admires cubism may hate rennassaince (sorry, forgot how to spell it) & on & on. personally, i would swoon at photographs of nature but only glance at the 'masters'; monet, van Gogh, Da Vinci, etc. i adore Tchaikovsky but detest waltz. such is the subjectivity of art. such is the fickleness of humankind. but nature is all objective. preservation of it takes precedence over many things. even more so for countries that rely on it to live.
nature is the source of art. & it will continue to be that. from the earliest forms of art by cavemen (& cavewomen, i'm sure) to fine art to abstract art to pop art to photography to digital art; nature is always the flame that lights the candle in the minds of creativity.
nature nurtures. the body, mind & emotion. this is more than the best art can do. nature is the mother where humnankind is the child & art being the fruit.
this argument can go on & on but i feel i should stop here. as conclusion, i would support nature preservation over art. anytime. art imitates nature, never vice versa.
