In the future, the ideas related to almost-art are going to spread. Andy Warhol said he was "the receiver of ideas, not so much the initiator." What goes around, comes around. And so, in echo-chamber Earth we can expect that ideas about art are going to continue to travel, and tap people on the shoulder, and continue to blend and merge, and infuse, and get tested.
When art is made, goals come into play. There might be the goal of selling the art-object at a high price, the goal of gaining recognition as a great artist, or the goal of using one's artistry in the sale of other goods and services. If it wasn't for the fact that sex, violence, and a loud drum beat sold merchandise, artists wouldn't be so quick to use those devices. In the future as in the past, people will try to employ alll devices at their disposal in their art-objects to better suite particular goals, and in so doing consciously employ the ideas of almost-art. For example, the inn-owner might try to make his "Bed and Breakfast" sign into a work of significant artistic quality, or the ad executive might commission the artist to make the image "a 7.5 out of 10 artistic." (See the page on Reasons.)
It is possible for the consideration of almost-art to encroach upon the provinces of the other two camps: art and non-art. For example, awareness and novelty in almost-art might cause upward pressure on the threshold we now have for "high art." Also, the more we humans impose on our planet, the less "natural" it will be, and, instead, the more the default state-of-affairs, life's background, will be almost-art.
Almost art is all around us. We live in it, work in it, travel to work in it, eat it, communicate with it, we even wash ourselves with perfumed soaps, etc. In a world that is increasingly becoming almost-art, the classification of almost-art is bound to be subdivided (and in ways we can't now imagine). We might want to consider several more distinct levels of art (not just: non-art, almost-art, and art).
Our universe has a sneaky way of continually sprouting "emergent properties," and novelty. As long as science and technology can provide new vistas for art, artists can move in with their squiggly lines and much-vaunted brush strokes, and decorate, and enlighten, and enliven, and provide feedback to all those around.
I anticipate that in the future there will be an Almost-Art Festival in every city. These would not displace Art Festivals, but highlight the overlooked almost-art around. To some extent this has already happened, these events just go by different names: boat shows, buildings, clothes, the second grade art competition at such and such a school, etc. It will be interesting to see how things evolve from here.
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