Art or the Aesthetic? The Relevance of the Classical Sociology of Art for the Current Sociology of Culture

Abstract

Classical sociological theories of art proceed from a shared insight: although cultures have always produced objects of esthetic beauty and symbolic significance, the emergence of art as a secular, commodified, and institutionalized practice is distinct to modernity. Because art was viewed as novel and historically specific, these theories took the study of art as an especially direct means of understanding the process of modernization itself. The classical accounts have notable limitations: they took a very narrow, exclusionary view of what merited study as art, gave little attention to local and subjective aspects of esthetic experience, and underemphasized the state’s investment in art. The contemporary sociology of art arose from a strong reaction against these classical theories during the late twentieth century. The resulting sociology of art is more inclusive and flexible, but lacks compelling theoretical grounds for studying certain cases over others. The chapter concludes by suggesting two ways that reviving the classical impulse may be of value for the current sociology of art: it could drive an empirical research agenda focused on new institutional arrangements in art, or could inform an effort to develop a general social theory grounded in esthetic experience.