I don't know any artists

Due to the explosion on Xanboni (couple hundred page loads a day), I decided to get serious about all these ridiculous blogs, and start looking for friends who blog that I can link to and comment on, maybe get a dialog going, and made some humbling discoveries.

First, I don't know any artists any more. Found a couple of old friends through Facebook, as well as a cousin, who has a wonderful website, (and whose art looks exactly like my mother's, interestingly). Found a few old acquaintances from Contemporary Art Workshop, mostly teaching at various universities, which I gather is the chief way that people have managed to continue an art career (something's got to foot the bill).

But for the most part, I don't know any artists, not to talk to on anything approaching a regular basis.

Second, I don't know how to talk about art anymore. I was never one to follow, much less participate in, still less understand, art world trends (partially a consequence of my personality, partially of living in Chicago), but I'm so far behind the curve at this point that when reading art blogs and commentary it might as well be in Mandarin for all I understand. Historical references tend to refer to "history" that has happened since I dropped off the map in the early 90s, so they're meaningless to me.

So, does this break the no-whining rule?