A clever person I know thinks that art just triggers or fails to trigger a generic “I like this art” experience in you, and as your taste supposedly evolves you merely need more complicated stimuli to trigger that exact same old “I like this art” experience. I don’t think that this view is very probable at all*, except I know that I would kill myself if I thought this is probable, so I can’t really trust myself on this one can I?

*Espresso doesn’t turn into hot-chocolate when you start to like espresso. Basically I think he’s failing to the distinguish between the interoceptive and perceptual part of aesthetic pleasure. (Like the intuitive distinction between the orgasm-related part of sexual fun and the this-person’s-body’s-tactilely-amazing part of sexual fun.)