ART WORLDS

Who makes an art world? Why do we need them?

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OUTLINE

1. THEORIES OF ART WORLDS 2. CRITICISMS OF ART WORLDS 3. ART AND SOCIETY 4. ART WORLDS REVISITED 4/23/12

THEORIES OF ART WORLDS I

HOWARD BECKER Art as collective activity Social networks Conventions Mobilizing resources Art critics Making distinctions 4/23/12

THEORIES OF ART WORLDS I

The making of exhibitions Ways of looking at art Public perception of value Art as an aesthetic

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THEORIES OF ART WORLDS I

Art collections Guggenheim Tate, Britain, Modern Museum of Modern Art

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THEORIES OF ART WORLDS I

Making distinctions The Turner Prize A jury Public: nominates artists

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THEORIES OF ART WORLDS II

PIERRE BOURDIEU Fields Symbolic struggles Belief in the value of the work Economic capital
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The art market as an art world

Price is a collective activity Galleries, auction houses, dealers e.g. Australian art world/New York market

CRITICISMS OF ART WORLDS I

Effects on the art object Externalist approach Rejecting intrinsic greatness! Intrinsic value?
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CRITICISMS OF ART WORLDS II

Effects on the artist Bourdieu, maximising their chances for success Becker, artists are passive Why some individuals choose to be artists?

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CRITICISMS OF ART WORLDS III

The art world as context Applicable to any social process, organisation, structure Changes in art worlds? e.g. postmodernity
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CRITICISMS OF ART WORLDS IV

Defending sociology Sociological prudence? Disciplinary strategy? Homo Academicus, Bourdieu

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ART AND SOCIETY I

Tia DeNora Music in Everyday Life Musicology Art worlds Musics properties Musics role in agency formation 4/23/12

ART WORLDS REVISITED

Becker et al Art from Start to Finish Finished? Arbitrariness A point in time

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QUESTIONS

Art worlds? How useful? Value: external or internal? Social actors: manipulating, passive? Audiences: role? Embodiment, 4/23/12

THINK TASK: RE-ASSESSING ART WORLDS

Think of a specific example, a form of artistic production: opera performance, art exhibition, life music concert Apply to it the analytical framework: artworlds/field List the advantages and disadvantages of this model Argument: how useful would it be as 4/23/12 an arts manager?