Sociology of the Arts

Exploring Fine and Popular Forms

Victoria D. Alexander

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780470672884
• eBook ISBN: 9781118323465
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

Explains the key concepts, theories, and studies in the sociology of the arts—the fully updated new edition of the classic textbook

Sociology of the Arts is a comprehensive yet accessible review of sociological approaches to studying the fine, popular, and folk arts. Integrating scholarly literature, theoretical models, and empirical studies, this authoritative textbook provides balanced coverage of a broad range of essential topics—enabling a deeper understanding of the field as a whole. Throughout the text, numerous real-world case studies reinforce key concepts, stimulate classroom discussion, and encourage students to contemplate abstract theoretical issues central to the relationship between art and society.

Now in its second edition, this bestselling volume features fully revised content that reflects the most recent literature and research in the field. New discussion on the production and the consumption of culture are complemented by fresh perspectives on changes in the social world such as the rise of the internet and digital media. Updated chapters offer insights into social boundaries and embodiment in the arts, emplacement, materiality, the social construction of art and aesthetics, and more. Exploring how art is created, distributed, received, and consumed, this textbook:

• Explores both classic work and new approaches in the sociology of the arts
• Features case studies and discussion questions on art forms including popular music, film, romance novels, visual arts, and classical music
• Discusses the meaning of artistic objects and why interpretations of art vary
• Examines the ways art intersects with race, gender, sexuality, and class
• Includes photographs, tables and figures, and a comprehensive reference list

Written by a leading scholar in the field, Sociology of the Arts: Exploring Fine and Popular Forms, Second Edition is an ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on sociology of art and culture, media studies, anthropology of art, arts management, and the social history of art, and is a useful reference for established scholars studying any aspect of sociology of the arts.

1
Introduction: What is Art?

This book is about the sociology of the arts. That is evident from its title. Perhaps not clear is what I mean by art and what I mean by a sociology of it. Art is a value‐laden word, conjuring up images of the best that has been penned into words or brushed onto canvas. This book uses the term in a more mundane, and a broader, sense. Art includes the tangible, visible and/or audible products of creative endeavor; it includes not only the traditional fine arts but also the popular and folk arts.

Sociology is, among other things, the study of society, the study of human systems, the study of how people create meaning, and the study of social inequality. These aspects of sociology are central to this book. We will examine how groups of people work together to create what we call art. We will look at why some things are called “art” and some people “artists”—and why other things and people are not. We will look at the meaning of artistic objects and why interpretations of art vary. We will look at how people use artistic products, for aesthetic pleasure, certainly, but also for other reasons. And we will study the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, and class with art.

Defining Art

Definitions often seem to pin down, in academic phraseology, what seems intuitively obvious. I will not give a formal definition of art suitable for quoting in essays or exams.¹ Instead, I will paint, with a broad brush, a picture of the cultural forms that I intend to cover in this book. Indeed, it is not actually possible to define art in abstract terms, because “what is art”—even broadly stated—is socially defined, and therefore subject to many inconsistencies. Why is ballet art but World Federation Wrestling not art? They both are scripted before‐hand and performed to a sound track (music or the roar of the crowd and the announcer’s voice‐over); the performers wear attractive costumes and leap athletically about the stage. We might say that art is not sport (but this begs the question, in this case, as to why the World Federation style of wrestling is considered sport). Family photos are not considered art, even the ones which are carefully composed and mounted in beautiful scrapbooks. These photos and albums might be an expressive form, but they are too private to be called art. Nevertheless, most of us would think of the photographer Ansel Adams’s private albums as art, and some photographers have created family photos, specifically meant to be considered art, that have been exhibited in museums.² If we already think of the creator as an artist, or if we see a work in a museum, we tend to call it art. This points to the importance of the context.

The sociologist Howard Becker (2008 [1982]) believes that the context is the most important aspect to the definition of art. He says,

Like other complex concepts, [the concept of art] disguises a generalization about the nature of reality. When we try to define it, we find many anomalous cases, cases which meet some, but not all, of the criteria implied or expressed by the concept. When we say “art,” we usually mean something like this: a work which has aesthetic value, however that is defined; a work justified by a coherent and defensible aesthetic; a work displayed in the appropriate places (hung in museums, played at concerts). In many instances, however, works have some, but not all, of these attributes. (p. 138)

Becker believes that a work is art if people say it is. That is, the contents of the category of art are defined socially. Further, art is defined by groups of people organized into art worlds, which we will discuss in detail later. An example: A colleague of mine was interviewing art students at the San Francisco Art Institute. In a courtyard outside the classroom, a young man dressed in black clothes was standing in the fountain and moving his body in interesting ways. Inside, my colleague found the students discussing whether “Bob” was making art, or whether he was just acting like an idiot again. The students’ debate on whether or not Bob’s movements were art highlights the issue of context. If the fountain had been in a theater, his dance would probably be thought of as art (whether it was good art is another question). If he danced in a public fountain, passersby might think he was mentally ill. Since the context was an art school, the answer was not clear.

Becker also suggests that we think of the definitional problems in relationship to art as an opportunity for research rather than as a problem: “Art worlds typically devote considerable attention to trying to decide what is and isn’t art…; by observing how an art world makes those distinctions rather than trying to make them ourselves we can understand much of what goes on in that world” (p. 36).

Becker’s comments are quite correct and we shall examine them in greater detail later. Assuming that we cannot define art formally and abstractly, there are, nevertheless, some elements that characterize most forms of art:

• There is an artistic product. It may be tangible, visible, or audible. The product can be a physical object, like a book or record. Or it can be a performance, like a play or a concert.
• It communicates publicly. To be art, the cultural product must not only exist, it must be seen, heard, touched, or experienced by an audience, either in public or private settings. All art is communication. Of course, not all communication is art.
• It is experienced for enjoyment. “Enjoyment” can take many forms. Art might be consumed for aesthetic pleasure, for sociability and fun, for mental stimulation, or for escape. Sometimes, however, people are exposed to art because “it’s good for them,” as in a school trip to a museum.
• Art is an expressive form. When art relates to real life, it presents a fiction or an interpretation. Sometimes art claims to tell the “truth,” but if it takes this idea too literally, it moves into the area of documentary, non‐fiction, or news.
• Art is defined by its context, both physical and social. What is art in a museum or theater may be just odd objects or strange behavior in other settings. When different social groups view the same expressive product, they may disagree on whether or not it is art.

It is as important to understand what this book will not cover, as well as what it will cover. I exclude from analysis (1) popular culture in the broad sense, for instance, youth culture or commodity culture, and (2) the media in their informational, rather than entertaining, formats, for instance news, documentaries and the like, whether online or broadcast. Griswold (2013) distinguishes between implicit culture and explicit culture. Implicit culture is an abstract feature of social life: how we live and think. Explicit culture is a tangible construction, a performance or product that is produced—it is what I am calling “art.” The book analyses culture in the explicit sense, but does not attempt to address implicit culture systematically.

In place of a formal definition, a list of what is “art” and “not art” will help define the scope of the book (see Table 1.1). This book will cover: (1) The fine (or high) arts. For example: the visual arts (painting, sculpture, drawing, etching, and other works that you might find in an art museum), opera, live symphony and chamber music, recorded classical music, drama, theater, dance (ballet and modern), other performance art (experimental theater, happenings, etc.), literature and serious fiction, and digital art (art visible only in virtual environments), and art recently “promoted” to high art (e.g. jazz music, some cinema). (2) The popular (or low, or mass) arts. For instance: Hollywood movies, independent film (sometimes considered as fine art), television drama (series, serials, made‐for‐television movies), television sitcoms, best‐selling and pulp fiction, popular music (rock, pop, rap, etc.) including recorded music, rock concerts, and performances in pubs and clubs, and print, television, and online advertising. The fine and popular arts are the book’s main subjects, but we will also discuss (3) the folk arts, that is, artistic activities created in community settings. These include: some types of amateur music, garage rock music (e.g. as performed by teenagers), quilting (especially in quilt circles), and graffiti of the artistic (rather than the public toilet) kind, as well as a wide variety of DIY (do it yourself) creation distributed via the Internet, such as music or fanfiction. As mentioned, some types of art do not neatly fall into one of the categories, for instance, jazz can be either popular or high art, and, especially in its early forms, folk art (Lop...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• List of Illustrations
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• List of Boxes
• Preface and Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction: What is Art?
• Part I: The Relationship between Art and Society
• Part IIA: The Cultural Diamond The Production of Culture
• Part IIB: The Cultural Diamond The Consumption of Culture
• Part III: Art in Society
• Part IV: Conclusion
• References
• Index
• End User License Agreement