Those are important question, but for now i want to respond only to a mixture of the last three.

I don't believe society is happy with the consumer overload of "sensational instantaneous experiences". Life's rich moments are slow and vivid. The way society thinks and sees is being given to us, involuntarily, and passivity in accepting this way of life is getting worse. A little distance from living entrenched in Capitalism and the "spectacle," as Guy De Bord described it, is noticeable during re-entry. When we are aware enough to perceive the ideology that is our way of life the question comes to mind, "How can I not participate?" My support of American imperialism can be broken down to the details of everyday life. My participation then seems compulsory and 'dropping out' is not a solution. Even becoming a New Age, or no age, hippy, will not wash my hands clean, as that counterculture has long been commodified. Being an artist is one way to not participate. One can still be an artist and a slave to the conditions of Capitalism as much as a banker, but being an artist seems to be a way of thinking and seeing that is inherently activism.

Art embodies freedom and creativity if you bring it back to its essence. It has never been more important
to use this freedom to slow people down and remind them to contemplate life. Beauty is the bridge to this oppressed skill. Natural and artistic beauty still us, brings us to contemplation, because we drop our willing, our desires, in view of a thing-in-itself. A major problem I see with a lot of contemporary art is that it requires the viewer to decode its visual narrative structure, in most cases it is admittedly impossible to understand the work. It is not expressing an emotion, human experience, or idea, but is a literal/illiterate compilation of references. The moment of understanding or value to the viewer comes from reading the vague and standardized statement of the artist's intentions on adjacent wall. Does that strike anyone as a sad state of affairs? It is no wonder that art is becoming more specialized, and removed from the consciousness of the general public.

The future of young artists who are making art that is more "subtle and contemplative", is only one that they make for themselves. The danger lies in it becoming a trend, another cultural revolution or counterwieght that gets marketed and assimilated. If it's a future you're concerned about then no ideal can be compromised. Your imagination must be without restraint.

There are many ways off addressing this issue of art's value in society. Making art that inspires contemplation is only answer. When the question is framed differently other answers will surface.