Sociology of art
Related: sociology - art - art theory
See: exploration of art as commodity
The cheap and nasty pop culture that capitalism produces in its phase of senile decay plays approximately the same role as the cheap and nasty fast food that is undermining the health and clogging the arteries of the present generation of youth. The only difference is that this "pop art" is undermining culture and clogging the mental arteries of society. It is hard to say which activity is the more harmful. --http://www.marxist.com/capitalist-fetishism-decay-art-2.htm [Nov 2006]
Definition
Sociology of art is one of the subfields of sociology. It has grown out of aesthetics as its empirical descendant. It's goal is not to decide what should or should not be called art, but instead describes what has in fact been called art. Part of this subfield is the analysis how the honorific 'art' is fought over, what eventually gets labelled art and what doesn't. --http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology of art
The Necessity of Art: A Marxist Approach (1959) - Ernst Fischer
The Necessity of Art: A Marxist Approach (1959) - Ernst Fischer [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Fischer's book, translated cleanly by Anna Bostock, addresses art from the levels of medium, message and magic. Thought-provoking and influential, _The Necessity of Art_ is also quite readable and not at all dogmatic. Book is divided into five sections:
- The function of art
- The origins of art
- Art and capitalism
- Content and form
- The loss and discovery of reality
Perhaps the most-quoted passages come from "content and form", which was indeed for me the most interesting section of the book. Form as solidified social experience fits into his analysis extremely well and the idea is developed here in a fascinating manner. -- C. Gilbert "frumiousb" via Amazon.com
The sociology of art (1967) - Jean Duvignaud
The sociology of art (1967) - Jean Duvignaud [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]