I mean, I kind of understand part of it. Nowadays you can draw a red line on a white canvas and sell it for a million pounds (in fact, there's a painting that it's exactly that). The author can just say that the freaking line represents whatever bullshit they make up on the spot and give their work a value it may not have otherwise. At least Picasso's works have actual meaning, but some current paintings are literally bullshit. I understand people wanting to see technical skills. In fact, artistic preferences change from time to time precisely because people are tired of it, so it wouldn't be strange to go back to realistic artworks again in a few decades.