For much of the 20th century, there was a nice balance between classical and contemporary arts & culture. For instance, enjoying jazz and blues music followed by Bach and Beethoven and also enjoying Warhol and Dali alongside Leonardo and Rembrandt. In the 1950s for example, nearly half of all LPs sold were classical music (Instrumental, "light classical", opera, and chamber music), whereas today, maybe a percent of all digital music sold, mostly from a small group of aficionados comprise the genre that gave you the symphony and concerto. People think that "classical dance" is disco and techno, not the great ballets and fox trots by the masters, despite the presence of a "modern dance" genre out there. "Classic music" means classic rock or even classic hip-hop to many. There's even a lot of more contemporary classical works that have been composed since then that sadly few people seem to take notice, and would rather scour out Spider-Man comics and punk rock covers instead of fine portraits for "art".  The only thing that may get a pass is what's marketed as "world" or "exotic" arts, especially from developing countries, where a somewhat more dedicated love of followers reveals what's going on outside of Western culture. Even some more modern arts like film doesn't seem to have quite the love for today's established adults in their 30s-50s compared to a decade or two earlier. It seems like the only nostalgia that's worthwhile comes from people who are still alive when their pop culture was around, and once that generation passes on, so does the appreciation for it. Yes, there is still a lot of ways to access the classics, but it seems like the passion for appreciation is lacking.

You bring up a very interesting point. I can add that in the 60s and 70s popular musicians from the Beatles to Dylan to the Stones  to Bowie and many others were constantly referencing classical works of art and all kinds of poetries and literature from Blake to Shakespeare to Kahlil Gibran to Greek mythology and much more. Many British rock stars (such as John Lennon) had been to art school (though they also dropped out to pursue music). They gave interviews where they spoke about high flung artistic things.  This type of thing used to inspire me like crazy. Even actors would go on talk shows and discuss such things. This type of consciousness went away in the 80s and has not returned. It's not something we generally see among today's pop and rap stars.

This is probably another one of the many reasons why the 20th century was so much better than the one we are in now in terms of pop culture. It is sad in many ways. I had no idea that nearly half of all LP's in the 1950s sold were of the classical genre. but at the same time it doesn't really shock me.

It seems as if people had better taste back then and a better appreciation for the classics. Perhaps that's why, (in my opinion) we are seeing a deterioration of quality in the arts today because creators in the 20th century had an appreciation for the fundamentals and foundations that the original masters in their field managed to achieve. Whereas that appreciation seems to be lacking in artists today.

Speaking from my own perspective on animated films, (yes I know film is a fairly modern art form but hear me out) there are silent stop motion short films by a Russian/Polish animator named Ladislas Starewitch made in the 1910's and 20's which I think are 10 times more charming and captivating than many animated films out there today (and I was born in 1995!) Sometimes I think if animators and directors today watched some of those films that came out around the time that animation was invented they could honestly learn something, which brings me back to your original point.

Not all people these days neglect appreciation for the classic arts but many do unfortunately. As to why they do? Who knows...