High Art versus Low Art

The separate worlds of high and low art do exist, but only on a very superficial level. 

Low art is often associated with subculture movements-i.e. the underground "comix" movement of the 60's, 70's, and 80's which included artists like Robert Crumb, Rick Griffin, and Spain Rodriguez; as well as publications like Heavy Metal Magazine. 

The May 1982 cover for 'Heavy Metal Magazine' 

Sometimes low art is defined as such because the purpose seems to be entertainment alone. Such is the common misconception with comic book/ cartoon culture-arguably the most tagged forms of the "lowbrow movement". In fact, there is much more to the picture. Some of the underground publications/ artists were inclined to act because of important social issues--look no further than the work of famous feminist comic artist Joyce Farmer, whose work often poked fun at what she saw as a misogynist and "man-centric" (for lack of a better term) society. Some publications like "Slow Death Comics" tackled a contentious social issue with each release.

Was this not the same aim as famed and now legendary "high artists" like Theodore Gericault (social injustice) and Artemisia Gentileschi (empowerment of women)? 

The other argument may be something about the quality of the work-and while it is hard to compare the aesthetic of an artist like Robert Crumb to someone like Gericault, or even to someone like Damien Hirst, I will suggest that many "lowbrow" artists possess just as much technical ability as their "highbrow" counterparts. Just look at the work of Luis Garcia, a regular contributor to Heavy Metal Magazine:

And asking price? Even something as mundane sounding as "Action Comics" can fetch over a few million dollars for an original pressing. So more than anything the distinction between high and low art confuses me and I try to avoid it as much as possible. 

I have no problem with putting art into categories- cataloguing only serves the purpose of helping the curious find things pertaining to their interests- but how about using a less derogatory term than "low art"? How about "Comic art", "underground art", or even "Shock art"? Terms that have nothing to do with the inferred value of the movement.