The paradox of the sublime in art, which seems at first glance to be an elitist notion, is that the heights sought and scaled serve as a metaphor for the aspirations of mankind, all men and women; whereas the pop perspective, in its attempt to limit meaning to the "now" and "happening" culture, to a reductive iconography of the present tense, tends to establish an elite of ironists who spend most of their time sending signals to each other. The assumption that Adams and his kind are the only "real" photographers usually indicates an aversion to the dissonant and playful spirit of modern art, whereas a disrespect for Adams usually accompanies the notion that life has become fatally mediocre.