Fringe and Fortune: The Role of Critics in High and Popular ArtWhy does the distinction between high and popular art persist in spite of postmodernist predictions that it should vanish? Departing from the conventional view that such distinctions are class-related, Wesley Shrum concentrates instead on the way individuals form opinions about culture through the mediation of critics. He shows that it is the extent to which critics shape the reception of an art form that determines its place in the cultural hierarchy. Those who patronize "lowbrow" art--stand-up comedy, cabaret, movies, and popular music--do not heed critical opinions nearly as much as do those who patronize "highbrow" art--theater, opera, and classical music. Thus the role of critics is crucial to understanding the nature of cultural hierarchy and its persistence. Shrum supports his argument through an inquiry into the performing arts, focusing on the Edinburgh Fringe, the world's largest and most diverse art festival. |
From inside the book
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... factors that encourage the writing of a book , but one stands out in my mind . Michael Mulkay and Trevor Pinch invited me to speak at the University of York on social network approaches to the micro - macro problem . I was to present an ...
... practices that mediate the relationship between art and its public . Spectators and buyers confront cultural objects against a background of factors that predispose and shape their responses in particular A CRITIC'S NEW CLOTHES 7.
... factors that predispose and shape their responses in particular ways . Some of these influences are the result of past socialization and education , based on exposure and experiences with art that produce various kinds of “ cultural ...
... factor distinguishing high and popular culture . Specifically , it is within the process of evaluation involving spectators , performers , and critics that the difference between high and popular art may be located . To participate in ...
... centers for the performing arts such as New York and London . But so many factors affect the length of the run - most of them not under the control of 12 INTRODUCTION Courtyard of the Pleasance against the backdrop of the Salisbury.
Contents
10 | |
CHAPTER | 25 |
CHAPTER | 42 |
CHAPTER THREE | 63 |
TABLES | 69 |
CHAPTER FOUR | 83 |
Assembly Rooms | 85 |
CHAPTER FIVE | 109 |
CHAPTER SEVEN | 144 |
CHAPTER EIGHT | 165 |
CHAPTER NINE | 181 |
CHAPTER | 193 |
EPILOGUE | 213 |
NOTES | 229 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 265 |
CHAPTER | 125 |