Art & Representation

We look at the world and make art to represent it, but to what end?  At once it is a way to index the world around us, to interpret it and internalize it.  But does this representation have a value?  We say that it enriches our view of the world to see alternate representations of it created by others.  This process allows us to idealize our reality and elevate it from the banal or the everyday.  Will representation go out of style?  It seems that during the Abstract Expressionist movement that it did.  However, one could argue that those paintings were representations of the post-war mindset translated onto canvas.  Now we rely more and more in icons and logos to represent our beliefs and affiliations.  Team logos, religious icons, corporate slogans and even online avatars  have become our representative stand-ins in the real and virtual communities we inhabit.  What is the overall effect of this branding we're doing to ourselves?  Is there something that can't be branded?