answer:Consensus of the elite. ;-) High and low art are pretty much a very good example of arbitrary categorization. But, you can generalize it by looking at what are the newer forms of media. The newer the media form, the more likely it will be relegated to “low art.” The novel in Western culture, for instance, was considered frivolous – long fiction accounts were thought to be distractions, whereas one interested in high art writing should read philosophical treatises, etc. Film was low art before TV. TV is still considered low art – but now that the internet is around, it’s been gaining cache. If it’s a for that is consumed, available, and producible by more of the general population, it’s going to be considered more likely as low art. The more democratic, unfortunately – the less respected.