Is there room for art in SL?

I waited for a while before talking about whether there is room for art in Second Life because of my previous personal involvement in a photo gallery. But having taken a step back, I want to raise the issue.

Is there room for art in Second Life? Can someone sell genuine art, whether it is photography, sculptures, music, or just any creative work?

Having run the Ally's Scenic Views photo gallery for almost a year before, I was highly disappointed with the lack of interest of most people towards art here. Sure, customers who purchased showed their appreciation for the photos, but there are other "industries" in SL that pay more. It is much easier to sell a gadget that took half an hour to script for L$500 than a stunning photo which required a high level of taste and skill to shoot for L$300.

I stopped counting the number of artists who told me that their works in SL do not cover tier for their land. Some lose money. Some have to heavily promote their art for no profit. Some rather provide services for those who want their wedding pictures or custom builds to generate money with their creativity.

The people who are ready to shell out a few cents for a decent piece of art seem few and far between. I even heard some naysayers say that selling a picture L$300 means making L$290 profit for something that can be found on Google Images and uploaded anyway. Such dishonest words.

Is there room for art in SL? Or should content creators focus on clothing, club supplies, skins and sexbeds because it is all that really works? I am afraid of the answer.