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. |
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... level of awareness , it is the custodian in Dallmeyer's play who is " oversophisticated ” and jaded . We strongly suspect that cannot be true . Why ? Because the critic is a man of taste , not the youth . His approach to cultural ...
... levels of quality . In consequence , the idea of universalistic standards of merit in artistic expression is groundless . Apart from the intellectual attack on aesthetic foundationalism , there exist good reasons for expecting a ...
... levels of uncertainty . It would not be surprising if , at least from the viewpoint of performers , great power and mystery were to attend the critical enterprise . The relationship between artists and critics is explored further in ...
... levels of critical influence are generally unrecognized . In Chapter 9 I also attempt to introduce a more realistic complexity to the process of spectatorship with the concept of " distributed evaluation . ” The explanation of review ...
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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 |