Sociology Of Art Research Articles

Ignored works

This essay interrogates ignored works of art as a special kind of object that can shed some light on the nature of contemporary art worlds, as well as on wider social processes regarding our relationship with things and with our past. It provides a materialist perspective focused on discarded objects as an alternative to a mystifying view of the artworld that takes artistic autonomy for granted and obliterates the social conditions of creativity and success. Ignored works are normally outside the reach of art history and the sociology of art, yet the increasingly bigger realm of unrecognized and unvalued art provides, after the failure of the historical avant-garde, a space where critical autonomy can still develop. This essay attempts to illuminate this mostly invisible realm by relating it to other similar categories such as waste and forgetting. Finally, ignored works’ connection to notions of authenticity is pointed out.

On Contemporary Issues in the Sociology of Art: Introduction

In the introduction to this issue of Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej, we undertake an attempt to characterize the contemporary field of the sociology of art in Poland. For the point of departure, we took four generations of the sociology of art as defined by Nathalie Heinich as well as the identification of the following four elements: an artwork and its reception, an artist and a creative process, an audience, and a social-institutional framework. We try to draw the timeline of this sub-discipline by means of indicating works of Stanisław Ossowski (the sociology of art sensu largo) and Florian Znaniecki (the sociology of artist) as its beginning in the country. We also define the unique status of art sociology in Poland as a sub-discipline of the sociology of culture, as well as its mutual relations with different sciences. We analyze the emergence of scientific communities and the appearance and disappearance of research specializations during the period of over 80 years. Additionally, we indicate missing pages as well as thematic fields and perspectives that are still developing. We are aware of the fact that it is difficult to exhaust the problem of the history and status of art sociology in Poland within one article, which is why our objective is, rather, to indicate problems, perspectives, and ideas that can begin the discussion on the topic.

Inventing the New Art World: On Art Institutions and Their Audience

Howard S. Becker (2005 [1982]) and Vera L. Zolberg (1990) suggested the advent of new audiences to be one of the main common motors of change in artistic practice, where art institutions play an important role in delivering both aesthetic and educational experiences, but can also be criticized for persistent exclusivity and for how they create a participatory environment.
 The aim of this article is to examine the present-day relationship of art museums and galleries with their audiences while taking into account the role played by the advent of a new sociology of art, museum sociology, and the audience development, with all of them questioning the role of museums as socio-cultural institutions focused on the democratization of culture. By employing empirical research conducted in selected art institutions in the Czech Republic and Poland, I will examine how young visitors view art institutions in light of their recent quest for becoming the inclusive platforms of gaining knowledge about art, which promote and facilitate active participation rather than passive consumption.

Remembered: Zofia Rydet in the Biographically-Oriented Perspective of the Sociology of Art

Zofia Rydet is one of the most outstanding Polish and even European artists of the second half of the 20th century. She left a huge artistic legacy, but her biography still in many respects remains a mystery. The memory of a great artist is often mythologized, and the interpretation of the work after his/her death begins to separate from the original intentions of the creator. These are processes of great interest to art historians and sociologists alike. They can be studied by adopting the methods of the biographically-oriented sociology of art. This article uses some of these methods, namely the analysis of the existing documents, archival research, and interviews. The analysis of the collected material has revealed how Rydet was remembered by those who had the opportunity to meet her, accompanied her during field trips, and talked with her about art and photography. The aim of such research is to try to get to know the artist better, as well as to understand her work and the social functioning in what was a very specific time and environment.

Evaluation in Interaction: The Pragmatic Approach to Artistic Judgement

The aim of this paper is to discuss the pragmatic approach to studying artistic evaluation. The paper engages with recent literature and examines current trends in research on amateur and expert artistic judgement, arguing that the pragmatic scholarship has much to offer to the sociology of art and culture. It demonstrates the growth of qualitative research inspired by interpretivist approaches and symbolic interactionism, highlighting the main areas of researchers’ interest, such as (1) (Social) interaction between evaluators and artistic objects, or (2) Pragmatic rules and the situational character of artistic evaluation. This paper also identifies research gaps and provides directions for future research.

O CZYM NIE SPOSÓB MÓWIĆ, O TYM NA PEWNO NIE NALEŻY MILCZEĆ, PRZYNAJMNIEJ NA ROZSZERZAJĄCYM SIĘ POLU SZTUKI

The article is focused on the transformation of the language of contemporary artistic theory, the necessity of its adaptation to the realities of the expanding field of art. Using the theoretical repository of art sociology (the theories of Pierre Bourdiue and Howard S. Becker), the author reconstructs the role of the language of theory and criticism in constructing the boundaries of the artistic field. Then, the analysis of the process of the expansion in the field of art, and thus the decomposition of its boundaries is carried out, arguing that the language of art theory and criticism should become an emphatic vehicle for the inclusion of these trends rather than an instrument of exclusion. In this way, the linguistic revolutions in the artistic field allow us to formulate more adequate responses to the language of the social revolutions that take place outside of it.

Investigating the Cultural Tastes of Art among the Youth (Case Study: Gilane Gharb City)

Art in any culture reflects the cultural tastes of the people of that culture. Artistic taste is also the link between some artistic products and its consumption in a regionalized space (whether geographical, ethnic and tribal, cultural, etc). The theoretical framework of the research is based on the theory of sociology of art of Pierre Bourdieu in measuring and analyzing the cultural tastes of art. And Kumaraswamy theory (traditional art and modern art) is also formulated. The method of this research is sampling and the method of sampling is simple random. The sample size was selected based on Cochran's formula of 384 people. Our statistical population also includes young people aged 15-25 in Gilane Gharb. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient, t-test, analysis of variance and regression. The research results indicate that: The highest tendency towards cultural tastes of art was related to the variable of traditional art, which about half of the population studied have a strong tendency towards traditional art. Also, the most important social factor influencing the art of interest was gaining pleasure and then the economic factor. Furthermore, in terms of having the amount of cultural capital and social capital, most respondents have lower to moderate cultural and social capital, which has a positive and direct effect on artistic tastes. Also, most respondents have little or no economic capital, which has a positive and direct effect on artistic tastes. Finally, the variable of cultural tastes of art indicates a low and moderate taste of the sample, which is due to the low level of cultural, social and economic capital.

The three generations of the French sociology of art

The three generations of the French sociology of art

Maintenance work: Interrogating the sociology of art

AbstractThe following article explores the different ways art sociologists investigate art that is based in the participatory arts. The aim is to shift the empirical focus to the art practice, which speaks for itself, and to place the work of the artist and all who cooperate or collaborate in the making of the artwork at the center of sociological analysis. By allowing the artist to speak fully about their work, art sociologists can uncover new social and cultural phenomena and better understand the different motivations underlying art‐making. The following literature highlights the recent tendencies in the sociology of art, explores the “social turn” in art and presents different sociologists who focus on the art practice and the art’s voice. For further development of the field, I suggest the sociology of art needs to catch‐up with the recent tendencies in art by placing the empirical focus on participatory art practices that will not only give us a better understanding about the intricate actions taking place in the art making, but it will also illuminate new layers of social life that are hidden. To conclude, I suggest that sociologists engage with participatory‐based artists to enhance sociology through a public sociology of art.

Low life: William Hogarth, visual culture and sociologies of art.

This paper is an effort to understand Hogarth's unique position in early eighteenth century London, so as to grasp the rich complexity of his work. It begins by tracing two rival competing positions in the sociology of art, derived from Becker and Bourdieu, before taking a closer look at how Hogarth's work conjures up a new vision of the world, providing shape and meaning to the nation's changing understandings of morality, society, and the city. A fundamental transformation in the field of representation appears halfway through the eighteenth century and the interweaving of art theory, national identity, and systems of patronage are at the centre of this dynamic period. It is no accident that in Hogarth's world the main targets are those who seek to transgress their stations in life and cross class barriers. By combining two different sociological approaches to art the study builds a more nuanced picture of the artist and his work.

ОТ ИДЕАЛИЗМА К НЕОМАРКСИЗМУ. ЧАСТЬ 3. БОРИС АСАФЬЕВ

Although the merits of the major Soviet musicologist Boris Asafiev to the sociology of art are obvious, usually his system of studying melody and intonation as social phenomena is seen as a problematization of musical art rather than as a stimulus for his own thought. Using the example of Asafiev’s opera criticism from 1914 to 1947, I prove that his sociology of art was a constructivist system that focused on the permanence of implicit aesthetic notions such as manner and style, while allowing for variability in the explicit reference concepts of criticism. The ideological pressure to construct national character and the historical unity of popular life allowed him to reinterpret studio opera as a way of isolating its supra-personal principles, and by asserting the historical and transitory nature of opera art, to protect its sustained rhetorical potential. The unity of the rhetorical and melodic elements of opera, declared by Asafiev to support the work of Prokofiev and Shostakovich, was the dynamic formula that led to the development of a new sociology of art, which can be compared with the current actor-network models.

Art sociology analysis of Liao Jichun's painting color

The sociology of art is with the help of the analysis and research methods of sociology, taking the universal connection within the society as an opportunity to analyze the soil of art and its development state, and to study the cultural situation and social situation. This paper takes Liao Jichun 's painting color as the research object, puts his works on the basis of specific social and historical conditions and aesthetic feelings, and explores the influence of society on the color of Liao Jichun' s various periods, as well as the personal and national ideological artistic conception reflected by the color fusion.

The Study of the Principles of Philosophy of Islamic Art

The main discourse on Islamic art in the western academia primarily views Islamic art through the lens of art history and sociology of art. Islamic art is considered as sacred in Islamic civilisation and culture, and derives its sanctity from the Quran as the fountain from which it has emanated, which Muslims consider to be the Word of God, much like Christ is the Word of God in Christianity. The Quran has played a formative role in shaping the trinity of sacred Islamic art which is Quranic recitation, calligraphy and architecture. However, another approach which not only is viable but can be considered of great importance to the study of Islamic art, is the employment and utilisation of principles of Islamic philosophy and Sufism which were the pillars of the intellectual milieu in which a given work of art is produced. The application of such principles allows a more comprehensive and detailed interpretation of a work of art. In this paper, the primary Islamic philosophy and sufi doctrines that will be discussed are the concepts of imagination, colour, and calligraphy and examples of their application in the khānqāh and shrine ensemble of Shaykh Ṣafi al-Din Ardabīlī in Ardabil, Iran.

Beyond the Modern Museum. A theoretical framework for a museal landscape analysis

Today museum studies have a duty to keep pace with the museum’s perpetual renewal. This paper, then, aims to outline a new research path in order to grasp what are today the most significant categories and features of the contemporary museum. This will be done by bringing together the contributions of two disciplines so close to each other in subject and purpose, yet still so far apart in the academic discourse, namely museology and the sociology of art. Through the intertwining of theories and concepts of social aesthetics, the systemic approach, and new and post-critical museology, an attempt is made to develop a new research programme to observe museal landscapes. This will be applied to the city of Naples, in the belief that, while it is true that every community is in a class by itself, and therefore cannot be generalized, this is not true of this method which, on the contrary, could be fruitfully applied to a wide number of contexts.

Of Sound and Flavour – Revisiting the Notion of Material for the Cultural Sociological Analysis of Art Domains

This article proposes a possible path for a materialist cultural sociology of art, focusing on the dynamics of art(s) domains and harnessing Adorno’s dialectical notion of material anew. I seek to establish links between dynamics of the arts domains and the fostering of specific modes of engagement with them – and, potentially, stances in other domains of life. I argue that a return to Adorno’s notion of (musical) material allows for such connections to be made: the ‘material’ is where the dynamics of the specific arts domains are inscribed; but it is also what is engaged with – by composers and artists as well as by interpreters, performers and publics. A dialectical material lens seems well suited for the critical study of the dynamic of arts domains in the 20th and 21st centuries, given the multiple artistic ‘breaks’ proclaimed. Focusing on some well-known movements in music and cuisine which sought to ‘emancipate’, ‘democratise’, and ‘diversify’ sounds and flavours, I analyse the processes through which they produced sound and flavour anew. I suggest that sounds and flavours themselves have become the carriers of logics relevant to music and cuisine, and that they have come to imperiously command modes of commitment (from composers and chefs, performers, listeners and diners alike) that evince specific stances. Through this necessarily sketchy survey, I provide indications that broader, cross-cutting cultural dynamics may be at stake. Overall, I seek to make clear what theoretical steps are afforded by the joint attention to materiality and the dynamic of art domains.

From margins to capital: The integration of spaces of artistic critique within capitalist urbanism

ABSTRACT This article seeks to understand how the attitude of urban actors has changed with respect to artistic temporary use of spaces, considered here as spaces for the expression of artistic critique. I will analyze the dynamics of integrating spaces of artistic critique into city production by looking at their history in Paris, their gradual acknowledgment by institutions and, more recently, their instrumentalization. In this article, I show how capitalist urbanization has endogenized artistic critique and spaces of artistic critique and how this contributes to undermine the critique of capitalist urbanization through its integration into urban planning, its harnessing and misdirecting the ethical values of independence, authenticity, and freedom, and its support of spaces for expressing this critique. The new spirit of capitalist urbanization integrates critique to justify engagement in and to inspire actors to pursue capital accumulation, in other words, making a profit off the land. Focusing on the Parisian case and drawing on research carried out over the past 20 years, this article seeks to illuminate these ways of instrumentalizing and integrating artistic critique in view of multiple contemporary changes, in particular the injunction to an entrepreneurial self. To understand this trend, this article draws from two theoretical fields—urban studies and the sociology of art—offering a new perspective on the interface between critical artistic practices and urban spaces.

Agency and Sovereignty: Georges Bataille's Anti-Humanist Conception of Child

Abstract Georges Bataille (1887–1962) is one of the most significant thinkers of the 20th century, whose anti-humanist anthropology influenced subsequent existentialist and post-structuralist philosophy. His wide-ranging writings (across philosophy, archaeology, economics, sociology, poetry, erotica and history of art) frequently mention children, childhood and childishness, and yet there has hitherto been little to no attention paid to this aspect of his work. This article opens up a neglected theme in Bataille studies, and also explores the consequences of Bataille's presentation of the human condition for our understanding of the pedagogical relationship. Of particular interest is the idea of the agentic child, which occupies such an important place in childhood studies, educational theory and public policy. In the light of Bataille's anthropology, I shall explore the idea that the pursuit of children's agency is the victim of its vaunting ambition.

The Archives Made Me Do It

This paper is a reflection on the power of archives in driving research. Just as much as informants draw the attention of researchers to social patterns, archives do, too. Both archival and ethnographic research depends on the authority of written documents like field notes and official papers—even in the sociology of art. Archives consist mainly of papers about objects and property. I argue that the material turn in my work and the study of logistics as a form of power became important to me because of my archival experience. Sociologists recognize the importance of property as a driver of social relations of power, but they rarely study logistical power. I do, but only because the archives demonstrated its importance.

Prisoner-of-war stories in the movies (the case of Andrzej Munk’s Eroica)

This paper analyses Polish feature films which deal with the subject of POW camps during World War II, especially the so-called oflags (German: Offizierslager), i.e. Wehrmacht camps for officers. In Poland, nearly 200 feature films about World War II and the Nazi occupation were made in 1945–1999, with only eight raising the topic of POW camps. Eroica directed by Andrzej Munk is one of the first examples, and the best-known one. It depicts the social world of the oflags in a grotesque and ironic light, which was acclaimed by film experts but criticised by historians. The theoretical and methodological approach used in the sociology of art and in historical sociology can be invoked to analyse all the elements of the communication system: the creator, the work, and the audience in their social and historical context. The sociological analysis presented here only concerns the content of the film (the juxtaposition of “the truth of time” and “the truth of the screen”) and its social reception among different categories of viewers, each with their specific competences. The theoretical concepts developed by S. Ossowski, A. Kłoskowska, P. Francastel, E. Panofsky and P. Bourdieu are used here, alongside historical and sociological analyses of POW camps (D. Kisielewicz, A. Matuchniak-Mystkowska). The paper presents a certain research idea and describes methods that can be used to pursue it.

Film and cinema as a subject of sociological study. Between tradition and the present

Relations between sociology and cinema span over a hundred years. The author’s task is to reflect on this fact and, as a result, to present her own theoretical and methodological concept. Constructive framing is done in a historical perspective supplemented with methodological reflections using a variety of existing materials, scientific publications (library query) and the author’s own analyses. The basic research question concerns the state of the subdiscipline: what methodological, empirical and theoretical proposals have been developed; to what extent are they currently up to date or cultivated by scholars? A look at the broad heritage of the sociology of film and cinema allows us to see the gaps to be filled in in the area of empiricism and theory. This article does not address the reasons for this state of affairs in great detail, but merely indicates that an in-depth study of relationships and embedding data in the light of Bruno Latour’s actor-network theory or Pierre Bourdieu’s field concept could shed light on the issue from a different angle, in this case – the scope of the sociology of knowledge. One of the conclusions is that the sociology of film has a faint presence in the field of the sociology of art. The author tries to revive the old postulates of the Polish sociologists of culture and film (including A. Kłoskowska, C. Prasek, K. Żygulski), drawing theoretical inspiration from the philosophy of Ernst Cassirer and also using experience from her own research. What emerges as a result is a research model proposal (along with a research tool) in the field of the sociology of film/cinema, aimed at the cognition and comparison of images of reality.