Ok.. partially, and it was more thanks to Fovea, but anyway, an answer is an answer. so in all its glory, here it is:

"Art is something, that an individual could not or would not have seen with their own eyes under normal circumstances."

I think that about covers it right (as right as... yeah). So the role of the artist then is to help another see it. Under this definition I'd even say family vacation photos or even porn is art. Its not important what the piece is; its the context. So vacation photos to someone who wasn't there is a creating a new experience which they could not have seen, as is porno to someone who doesn't get enough of his daily fix. and then maybe halu-drugs are art as well, as is torture or a lack of oxygen.