【单选题】

It can be inferred from the passage that prior to the modern era artistic practice was regarded as
A．(A) a hermetic field without potential for collaboration, given that it was almost exclusively populated by "misunderstood geniuses"

B．(B) a field less isolated from the practice of critical analysis than the artistic process of the present era
C．(C) more meaningful and useful as a self-critical force than the aesthetic judgments of non-artists, especially art historians
D．(D) primarily concerned with the masking and concealment of artistic meanings from the general public
E．(E) seldom times as specialized as the various branches of science from which art has traditionally been distinguished