Art Worlds as Communication Networks
Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, original (left) and recreations of lost 1917 “Original”
Who decides what is art?– the artist, experts, publics??
Banksy Another example of
artist resisting, questions
“system”
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkUbYB
o5xgs
Today
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Lecture—More about Theories of Representation
vs. Theories of the “social construction of art
worlds”, begin”Who Belongs in Art World”
Discussion visits to Wack! (Vancouver Art
Gallery special exhibition) and Gallery Gachet
Discussion of Choices of Topics for First
Presentations and Scheduling (Revision of
Handout 2)
Video on Art Gallery directors and the
recognition/institutionalization of contemporary
Overview: Internal vs. External Approaches
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Internal (Humanist- External (Sociological-aesthetics, history of the arts,
& cultural studies)
critics, etc.)
 art=mystery,
spontaneous
creation of isolated genius
 importance
of “aura” of
individual artist for value
of art work
 timeless,
enduring quality
of beauty, perfection
 Art=social
production
(and reproduction)
 importance
of social
networks for creation of
belief in the arts
 values
change in different
social & historic contexts
Who creates the ‘creator’?
(Bourdieu)
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“Unit of analysis” in art studies often wrong- should
not study “apparent” producers (painter, writer,
actors etc.) but processes (art, artist part of broader field
of relationships)
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ideology of creation conceals exploitation by
market forces
art trader or impressario =symbolic banker who
creates belief in the arts by creating belief in the
economic (and moral?) value of art
Pierre Bourdieu—
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Marxist, critical theorist
Emphasis on
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Social and political structures & material conditions as limits to
freedom of agency
Power relations within the field of artistic production
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1930-2002
Creation of belief in the power of symbolic goods (art, artistic
reputations etc.) and their conversion into economic and social
capital
history of the field of cultural production
hierarchical model
Relationships marked by class conflict
Howard Becker
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Symbolic interactionist
 http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/faculty/hbecker/
Early work on labeling theory and social actors (a different
way of thinking of agency)
Emphasis on
 Sense-making (interpretive)
 Human interaction & identity-formation
 Consensus & conventions
 Art-making as a Collective Activity
 Notion of different types of “art worlds”
Strong sociological background but also a performing
artist (jazz musician)
Howard Becker’s Art Worlds
Arts worlds include all the people involved
in art-making
 Cooperative links through shared
conventions
 Study how participants “draw lines” and
what art worlds do
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What do art worlds do
together?
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Develop conventions &
shared practices related to
creation (ex. musical
notation systems)
Mobilize resources
(material resources,
training personnel,
networks, organizations)
Develop Distribution
Systems
Different types of artists/artworlds (Becker)
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Types
 Integrated
professionals (ex. concert
violinist)
 Mavericks
 Folk artists
 Naïve artists
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Classification according to how they fit in
art worlds (degree of integration, consensus
about the ‘rules of the game’, degree of
standardization)
Ranking Artists (Becker’s 4
types)
according to different ways of working &
career patterns
 1. integrated professionals
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 fit
with accepted conventions & canons held by
organizations
 well-trained --technical skills, shared traditions
2.Mavericks
innovative rebels against “system”
 begin as conventional “novices” but
deliberately violate norms of art world
 techniques for success-- develop alternate
systems for distribution
 do not totally lose touch with world of their
medium
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example:KLF
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Bill Drummond at
the “Brit Awards”,
1993
3. Folk Art
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link with community practices
 ex.
Duck decoys, quilts, chain-gang songs, Christmas
pagents
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art serves needs, part of daily activities
follows aesthetic conventions, using established
procedures (ex. Sorting scraps by colour)
often part of well-organized community, with
informal training
4. Naïve Art
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aka. “primitive” naïve, grassroots
indiosynmcratic
 ex.
James Hampton, Throne of the Third Heaven of the
national Millenium General Assembly
 ex. Art of children and the insane
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outsiders
 N.S.
artist Maud Lewis, Henri Rousseau, Grandma
Moses
Van Laar and Diepeveen on “The function
of Artists in Society”
 Another
typology
 Five roles:
Skilled worker
 Intellectual
 Entrepreneur
 Social critic
 Social healer
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 Other
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dimensions
Ex. Wittkower “Under the Sign of
Saturn”
• Transformation from craftsperson to
brooding geniuss
• Later to status of intellectual in
humanistic profession
F. De Goya. Saturn devouring his son,
c. 1821
Concluding Remarks on the
Definition of the Artist
Different criteria used in different contexts
 Fundamental conceptual problems
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Criteria used in classifying art &
artists
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“aura” of the artist (authenticity -- School of Frankfort,
Walter Benjamin-- “Work of Art in the Age of
Mechanical Reproduction”)
qualities of the art
 artistic
category
 particular work
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characteristics of the audience/public (notion of
consecration)
 “highbrow/lowbrow”
tastes (Levine--The emergence of a
cultural hierarchy in America)
 SES
 size
Conceptual & practical problems in
studying artists & artistic careers
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Establishing criteria for locating, identifiying
artists
“Irrationality” of choices (P-M. Menger)
 Ex.
Choosing poorer pay for more prestigious roles as
an actor
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In modern times -- Clash between notions of
 career
(regularities, patterns )
 Artistic recognition (singularities, unique, break past)
Changing views about values of art can lead to
changes in the status of the artist, artwork & the
social institutions & publics that support them
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Beaune Altarpiece
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PBS jazz series by Ken Burns
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Examples of establishing
“cannons” through testimony of
“experts” (ex. critics, “stars”,
fans) and changing shape of
artforms
Unique artists, unique art works
(individual) vs. social construction of
art/artists (Zolberg)
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Example: Problem of
Multiples
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negotiating artistic values in
context of new technologies
new ways of thinking about
connections between the artwork
and the “aura” of the artist
Walter Benjamin-- “work of art
in the age of mechanical
reproduction”
Ways of Studying Artists & Arts
professionals
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“Are Artists Born or made?”
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Theories about artists’ careers
1.labor of love (art for art’s sake) argument (Elliot Freidson)
de-emphasizes income
Arendt’s notions of labour (alienating but necessary) vs. work (creative vocation)
2.artists & arts professionals as risk-lovers, gamblers
satisfaction proportionate to degree of uncertainty of success
3. Dual reward system
monetary & non-monetary (psychic) gratification
4. Other—couldn’t do anything else
Formal training Issues
 qualifications—non-routine
activities depend on skills not
easily transmitted or certified by
a training system
 impact of schooling on
earnings smaller than other
professional groups
 mentoring/apprenticeships
 job matching (leaning-by-doing
process)
 occupational risk diversification
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Problems using “income” as a way of
identifying for artists & arts professionals
Irregular incomes, seasonal
variations, self-emploment
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public sources (subsidies, commissions,
sponsorship)
“privatization” (sales of services or works)
transfer income from other employment
(multiple job holding)
personal (family, friends)
Careers in the arts and rationality
of risk management (Menger)
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“rational behaviour model”
but artistic careers are risky
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high level of income inequality
high chance of “failure”
impermanence of artistic work, self-employment
amibiguity of transition from training to work (skills)
careers advance through recurrent & nonrecurrent work (nonroutine work)
Criteria used in classifying art & artists
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“aura” of the artist
Characteristics of
 the
art form and genre
 audience/public (notion of
consecration)
 Publics or audiences
“highbrow/lowbrow”
tastes
 arts organizations,
networks associated with
different art worlds
Mediation & “Support Structures” &
Publics as factors in recognition & artmaking
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Arts worlds include all the people involved in artmaking ?????
Cooperative links through shared conventions ???
how participants
 “draw
lines” and what art worlds do
 Mobilize resources (material resources, training
personnel, networks, organizations)
 Develop Distribution Systems and distinctions
Who Belongs in Art Worlds?
Arts Occupations, Institutions, Networks (continued) &
Mediation (Gatekeepers, Facilitators)
Source: V. Alexander Sociology of the Arts…(2003), p. 63
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Participants in art worlds --
Creators/artists
art
Audiences/publics/consumers
Mediators
Who Belongs to Art Worlds?
c.
Life Drawing Class, Bocour Paintmaking Studio
NYC, c. 1942
Production of Culture
Perspective (Peterson, Anand)
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How culture “shaped by systems in which it is
created, distributed, evaluated, taught, preserved”
Culture not a mirror of society
Focus on
 Expressive
aspects of culture
 Processes of symbol production
 Analysis of organizations, occupations, networks,
communities
 Comparisons
In situated studies of specific cultural forms and
changes in them
Six Facet Model of Production
Technology
 Law and regulation
 Industry structure or field
 Organizational structure of dominating
organizatins
 Occupational careers
 Markets
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Uses of the “Production Perspective”
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Organizational Research
 theories
of management
 institutional decision-making
processes/logics
 Networks of production
 Resource partitioning patterns
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Studies of Informal Relations
 Links
between Class and Culture (ex.
univore/omnivore)
 Resistance & appropriation
 Fabricating authenticity
Critiques of Peterson’s Production of
Culture Perspective
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Ignores or de-emphasizes
 “uniqueness”
of art to research constructed nature
of collective representations, values
 roles of fans and consumers in shaping cultural
products
 meanings of cultural production
 power relations
Participants in
Mediation Processes
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Gatekeepers vs. facilitators : types vary with art
form and genres
 Ex.
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Diana Crane on proponents of Avant-Garde Art
Examples of types of “mediators” (between creators and publics): book
publishers, record companies, film distribution networks, art gallery
owners, booking agents, critics, reviewers for media, museum curators,
sometimes even fans or fan clubs, etc…
Characteristics of the Mediators &
Artistic Values
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Mediation as a way of conferring
status
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The role of critics and other
gatekeepers in recognition
processes, examples:
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Shrum– emergence of Fringe
Festivals as a performing arts genre
when critics begin to review it
Change in status of Graffiti and
recognition by artists
Institutional forms & legitimation
practices
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Status of “Venues”, status of artists
Not-for-profit and for-profit models
& differences in socio-cultural
status (DiMaggio)
Super Bowl XXXVIII, Halftime show, 2004
L. Levine: The emergence of
Cultural Hierarchy in America
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Starting question: why can’t you compare high
culture & popular culture?
Why do people distinguish between highbrow and
lowbrow audiences & their understanding of the
arts?
Art forms not ‘cosmic truths’ but result from
‘peculiarities in the way culture operates
Levine’s Case study of the reception
of Shakespeare
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To study problem of equating notion of culture to idea of hierarchy
Believes primary categories of culture are determined by
IDEOLOGIES not grounded in actual observation of cultural
practices & tastes
Believes there was less hierarchical divisions in the past
But set in mid 20th c.
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Do same hierarchical distinctions apply today? Or have we again
entered an era in which high-brow & low-brow distinctions are less
meaningful?
Mediators &Cultural Hierarchy
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social meaning(s) of performance art
control and social “reproduction”
 Social
origins and established formulas or genres
 Hegemony & cultural industries
 Cultural things as mirrors of underlying structures
(functionalism, Marxism)
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New theories– more dynamic
 Symbolic
exchange, interaction
 -”production of culture approach” (Peterson,
DiMaggio)
Peterson on Country Music
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How do mediators (record producers)
choose artists to promote?
 Authenticity,
originality, distinctiveness
 Transformation of field of country music from
1923-1953
 Process of institutionalization
 Identified audience
Authenticity
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Paradox of creating authenticity artificially?
Socially-agreed upon idea (social construction of
reality– through shared values & practices)
History of country music (a revolt that became a
style)
Artificial notion of the ‘unchanged’ past– hillbilly
music (poor rural white Southerners)
Early distain of this type of music because of its
association with hillbilly culture
Evolution of terminology (to country and western)
Mediation in the Production of
Culture Perspective
 How
law, technology, careers, markets,
organizational structure shape culture (in this
case a form of cultural expression called
‘country music’)
 notion of social production of culture (shared
values, practices etc.)
 Emergence of differentiated roles in the field of
cultural production (manager, talent agent etc.)
Planning Short Assignments and
Class Presentations
Discussion of reading assignments and ideas
for topics
 Research resources (library)
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Note to Users of these Outlines-
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not all material covered in class appears on these outlines-important examples, demonstrations and discussions aren’t
written down here.
Classes are efficient ways communicating information and
provide you will an opportunity for regular learning.
These outlines are provided as a study aid not a
replacement for classes.