With every generation of artists arrives the potential for new artistic exploration. The meaning of artistic freedom, however, may be misconstrued as an invitation to denounce past cultural achievements. Dismissal of artistic tradition in pursuit of novelty suggests that art must merely be new in order to have value. This philosophy alters the meaning of cultural achievement to the notion that an artist's work is an end in itself, without connection to the past or responsibility for the future. As such, culture could become a matter of the inner life of the artist and not of the world the artist lives in.
An artist is an artist by definition of her freedom of artistic exploration. Yet such freedom does not necessitate the desecration of past cultural achievements. Every work of art is intrinsically connected to all that preceded it, and is likewise connected to all that will follow. An artist's sole pursuit of novelty is damaging to the significance of cultural heritage, as well as to the standards by which true art can be distinguished from commercial art.
What some label pursuit of novelty in art others may call innovation. Artistic license, whether it involves the artist's dismissal of past cultural achievements or not, is the very basis on which true art has ever been created. The only risk taken in questioning long-established cultural conventions through artistic expression is the audience's opportunity to alter its way of viewing. Ultimately the audience, not the artist, decides the power of a work of art.