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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... thing I expected was to become engrossed for a period of eight years in the study of this massive effusion of modern performance art . For a sociologist of science and technology , that may not be considered so surprising . Science is ...
... things that the youth does not . Moreover , his opinion “ counts ” in a specific sense : his discourse plays an important role in mediating the relationship between artwork and audience . The custodian , on the other hand , simply howls ...
... things . But other influences are apparent in the immediate context of exposure to art . I call these “ second - order ” influences because , though their effectiveness is also shaped by a multitude of past contingencies , they are ...
... thing it is constitutes the first and most important thing to know about it . This precedes the evaluative question of “ how good ” it is . How good compared with what ? Throughout , I depend on the simple assumption that there is such a ...
... things in one place also makes them easier to study . Edinburgh was an uncomplicated choice because it hosts the largest arts festival in the world and is beautiful besides . The two may be related . If you have to do a lot of tramping ...
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 |