I have no objection to someone presenting me with a painting so long as it is pretty. And I have no objection to a painting in a math class, whether it's Escher, Norman Rockwell, or Fred Gallagher. I may even be moved to make a mathematical comment about the painting.

What I would find patronizing is someone thrusting a painting at me and saying "Say something mathematical!" I think it is equally patronizing to ask an artist to saying something artistic about the Singularity or a poet to say something poetic about math. They are perfectly capable of expressing their own reactions, which may or may not - optionally, up to them - express their artistry or poetry. If you show me a painting, and I say "That's beautiful" just like the last 300 people you showed it to, I don't want anyone complaining, "But the whole reason I showed that to you is to find out whether rationalists had anything to say!"