Quality vs. Popularity

I think that it lies in sales, really. Some people are #1 out there pushing their product. They know the market, they know what works, they create product based on such, and they refine their craft with these things in mind.
Exit through the gift shop focuses on this. That much like a Warhol, it is all about context, and delivering to a fanbase moreso than the quality. Who is to say that the last guy is less of an artist than Banksy?
So, for me, I haven't let those influences shape the work in which I produce. I have had more popularity on here, and I had to be active, like doing features in journals, keeping fresh in the minds of fans with polls, and posting quality at certain times of the day/week when a target audience would be at the computer, rather than posting at 4 AM in the morning when I feel like it and it not getting any attention.
So, I believe it all depends on what you are going for, and likewise the supporting cast that you assemble to push your art, as much as the quality.
In regards to quality you also have to be completely objective, and seek out unbiased opinion. Quality is more than just execution, subject matter, or arrangement. Though if those things are off, then none of the having your work in place and pushing it won't matter.
Maybe the artist achieves a certain raunchy or cheapness that has appeal to a wal mart generation. Or likewise maybe a neglected artist is seeking to appeal to a very small base that can actually truly appreciate what it is they are doing.
This is part of the reasoning that I backed off from photography as my emphasis. One can capture things well, but it is largely a vicarious medium in that the draw comes from the subject matter. In the case I might find someone particularly beautiful, that doesn't mean anyone else will, and likewise regardless of how well I execute the art, it won't be well received.
I think that I started out wanting to help people see the beauty in the ordinary. I gave that a shot, and now I don't really want to change peoples minds anymore. My photography emphasis has evolved into documentary. A means of expression, and yet a reminder for me as to where I have been.
I can't say it has appeal. I can't say it is every marketable. I can't say that it will attract appreciators the way I would like it to. I can say that it is just enough.
Thats all I could have ever hoped it to be.
If something has a larger appeal that I think it is deserving, I look at the context. The body of work, and the person pushing it. The how that they push it, and the fanbase as such, and it starts to make a bit more sense. Likewise I see people deviate from their formula and have to find new audiences and therefore diversify and yet lose a large part of their core audience that feels somewhat cheated and turn on the artist.
Plenty, in any case to witness and appreciate.