Art world and Artistic Fields

5 important questions on Art world and Artistic Fields

What can you tell about Peterson's definition af the production of culture perspective.

  • Looks at how symbolic culture elements are shaped by the systems within which they are created, distributed evaluated, thaught and preserved.
  • 4 facets:
    • Gatekeepers: who filter who gets in (publishers, A&R managers).
    • Reward systems (money; recognition; prestige; oscar).
    • Market structures (concentrated market dominated by few powerful players, independent structure wit many smaller firms, for- or non-profit).
    • Artists' careers (labor market organization; networks; permanent or freelance).

What can you tell about the Arts Worlds perspective of Howard S. Becker?

Three key elements:
  • Art production is a collective activity.
    • Focus on collective not individual.
    • Focus on activity, not the final product.
  • This has a division of labor, with roles and role overlap.
    • Bundle of tasks: individuals who take on more roles.
    • Core/support personnel.
  • And has conventions that guide how people can work together.
    • "Rules of the game' for each artistic field.
    • Genre conventions, how to convey emotion/meaning, how is labor divised.
    • Enables collaborations but also constrains the artist.

Can you describe the two poles of artistic fields?

  • Autonomous pole (small scale).
    • l'art pour l'art.
    • Cultural capital is domimant; prestige.
    • No interest in making money.
    • E.g., art house films.
  • Heteronomous pole (large scale).
    • Criteria of other fields (economic field) takes over --> commercial considerations.
    • Economic capital is dominant.
    • E.g., Hollywood blockbusters.
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What are the three similarities and two differences between Becker's Arts World perspective and Bourdieu's cultural fields?

  • Similarities;
    • Both world & field are social domains in which actions and actors combine to make art.
    • Domains are structured by conventions/ideologies
    • Domains are plural and overlap.
  • Differences:
    • Which level of dynamics:
      • Becker: micro-level dynamics/networks.
      • Bourdieu: macro-level dynamics.
    • Conflict:
      • Becker: plays out in different layers of the art world.
      • Bourdieu: Analyses bigger issues (class and power struggles.

What are the three most pervasive criticisms of Becker's and Bourdieu's theories regarding the artistic word/field?

  • Little attention for special nature of art.
    • Treated like commodity goods as cars or shoes.
  • Little attention to the meaning of art.
    • What people do with art; how it conveys meaning.
  • Positivist character of research.
    • Distanced, disenchanted.

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