engaging art: the next great transformation of america's cultural life

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This article was downloaded by: [University of Glasgow] On: 03 October 2014, At: 02:45 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Cultural Trends Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ccut20 Engaging art: the next great transformation of America's cultural life Sara Skiles a a Department of Sociology , University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame, IN, USA Published online: 25 Feb 2009. To cite this article: Sara Skiles (2009) Engaging art: the next great transformation of America's cultural life, Cultural Trends, 18:1, 111-113 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09548960802651435 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions

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Page 1: Engaging art: the next great transformation of America's cultural life

This article was downloaded by: [University of Glasgow]On: 03 October 2014, At: 02:45Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Cultural TrendsPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ccut20

Engaging art: the next greattransformation of America's culturallifeSara Skiles aa Department of Sociology , University of Notre Dame , NotreDame, IN, USAPublished online: 25 Feb 2009.

To cite this article: Sara Skiles (2009) Engaging art: the next great transformation of America'scultural life, Cultural Trends, 18:1, 111-113

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09548960802651435

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoeveror howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to orarising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Engaging art: the next great transformation of America's cultural life

Book review

Engaging art: the next great transformation of America’s cultural life, edited by StevenJ. Tepper and Bill Ivey, Routledge, 2008, 398 pp., $95.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-415-96041-0,$27.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-415-96042-7

In 1982, when the compact disc was on the cutting edge of new technology, the Survey of PublicParticipation in the Arts (SPPA) was first administered, funded by the National Endowment forthe Arts. This survey, carried out roughly every five years, measures participation in the arts,and as Ivey notes in his introduction to the book under review, operates “as a kind of Nielsenrating service for museums, orchestras, and nonprofit theater companies” (p. 6). The 14 chaptersin Engaging Art collectively analyse the trends in these data, as well as data concerning otherforms of arts, including broadcasting, online artistic creation and other ways of engaging withthe arts, over the last 25 years.

The authors constitute an all-star lineup of cultural sociologists who have conducted researchin multiple areas of arts participation. These include Paul DiMaggio and Richard Peterson, both ofwhom have already written about the significance of the broadening of arts participation patternsamong middle and upper-middle class Americans. The aim of the 14 chapters in this volume is todiscuss the changing nature of engagement with the arts as a result of demographic shifts, tech-nological advances in modes of arts production, and a broadening of audiences’ interests.Included in the book are a discussion of the growing need to re-conceptualize how the arts andarts participation are defined and studied in the wake of the introduction of new forms of artsand methods of participation, a call for a broader look at non-traditional art forms and audiences,an examination of the relationship between technological innovation and cultural change, and anexplanation of the connection between cultural capital and arts participation in light of currentparticipation trends. The general conclusion of the work in this volume is that more attentionshould be paid to the significance of cultural participation in American society, especially asparticipation in the arts has increasingly come to mean creative, “do it yourself ” production ofartistic goods, starting with a broadening of the current concept of arts participation to includemore and varied types of arts and their audiences.

In the introductory chapter, Ivey explains that a primary motivation for the book is to helpconnect arts managers and cultural policy analysts with information about current trends in artsparticipation reported in academic research journals. For those who work for cultural non-profit organizations, the essays in this book provide an accessible yet comprehensive introductionto the current state of the cultural consumption literature, including detailed analysis of changingtaste patterns and the impact of technological innovation on the production, distribution andconsumption of art.

This volume will be of interest to those in the cultural policy world, but it will be just as appli-cable to academics who study cultural consumption. Using various data sources and rationales,the authors generally agree on two fruitful directions for future work. The first is to re-considerthe current scope of the concept of the arts. As Wuthnow and Jenkins and Bertozzi and othersargue, a multitude of forms of non-traditional and participatory culture have been introduced to

ISSN 0954-8963 print/ISSN 1469-3690 onlineDOI: 10.1080/09548960802651435

http://www.informaworld.com

Cultural TrendsVol. 18, No. 1, March 2009, 111–113

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Page 3: Engaging art: the next great transformation of America's cultural life

the arts world by young consumers, partially as a result of technological innovation that hasbrought the possibility of creative production out of large culture industries directly to individuals(such as the ability to create video games and musical compositions on one’s home computer).The authors and editors agree that scholars should widen their scope to be more inclusive of abroader array of arts, just as they show that the consumers they study have done.

The second direction for future research suggested is to re-consider the meaning of partici-pation. This is the explicit focus of Schuster’s essay, and many of the contributions argue thatfocusing solely on attendance at live events and consumption of arts media (CDs, movies, etc.)misses the many ways that individuals are incorporating the arts into their everyday lives, fromthe in-home creation of video games and music collections to the social construction of onlinecultural communities using social networking websites. In addition, they encourage scholarsand practitioners alike to consider barriers to creation and participation as well as differentialmotivations and rewards for participation. As Erickson and Peterson and Rossman note, thereis a cultural divide between the middle and upper-middle classes who have the resources andcapacity for participation in the arts, and the working and lower classes whose participation isconstrained by their opportunities, or in Weber’s words, “life chances”. For example, Lena andCornfield report their findings that artists from immigrant communities are actively serving thecultural needs of their communities but lack access to support from traditional arts institutions,which limits their potential impact. In addition, as Ostrower points out, in what promises to bean intriguing new line of research for cultural consumption scholars, motivations for, andrewards from, participation vary by cultural context. In line with the portrait of the cultural omni-vore painted by Peterson and Rossman, she finds that those who attend arts events most frequently(generally those in the middle and upper-middle classes) have a wide variety of cultural interests,and the ability to find enjoyable a range of activities. Although Ostrower does not make this con-nection explicitly, her findings suggest support for Tepper and Gao’s ideas about arts participationbeing part of a larger social pattern of an engaged citizenry and are in line with Simmel’s conceptof sociability.

Also of interest in this volume is the impact of technological innovation on artistic innovationand consumption. As the popularity of YouTube and the ubiquity of the white ear bud illustrate,engagement with art is a daily activity for many young consumers. Swerdlow outlines multipleways that recent technological change has impacted on opportunities for engagement with thearts, including allowing audiences increased personalisation of and interaction with art forms.He argues that the incorporation of new and varied electronic delivery methods is integral for con-necting with young audiences. Indeed, Jenkins and Bartozzi discuss how young consumers areusing digital platforms to appropriate existing art forms and transform them into unique formsof personal expression. Interestingly, however, Tepper, Hargittai and Touve explain that, althoughtechnology has been integral in introducing multiple new opportunities for arts participation toaudiences, most young consumers still rely on social networks and traditional media gatekeepersfor introduction to and information about new artists and art works.

Much contemporary research on the consumption of culture and the arts has focused on theconnection between the arts and social stratification, particularly on the ability of arts participationto confer cultural capital. DiMaggio and Mukhtar explain that although participation patternshave changed, arts engagement still constitutes a form of cultural capital. They find that thebasis of cultural capital is shifting from traditionally highbrow art to a wider array of art formsas participation patterns evolve from inclusive to multicultural appreciation of art forms.Indeed, Peterson and Rossman find that this inclusive attitude, cultural omnivorousness, isbetter suited for the social and cultural worlds in which middle and upper-middle class individualslive and work. Thus, a broad interest and participation in the arts serves them better than theexclusivist participation pattern of a generation ago.

112 Book review

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The impetus for the collection of essays in Engaging Art was to comment on the possibledecline in arts consumption in the last 25 years. The authors and editors generally agree thatthe arts sector, although different from how it was a generation ago, is still vibrant. The researchin this volume suggests an optimistic conclusion: that changing participation patterns do not rep-resent a weakening of the cultural community, but rather, a strengthening. Broader engagementwith multiple art forms represents a re-awakening of cultural participation. However, theauthors do identify a new sort of cultural divide, not between highbrows and lowbrows specifi-cally, but between those with and without the cultural competence to participate in the interactiveaudiences and amateur art-making that characterizes today’s art communities. Those with the cul-tural and economic capital to participate in this new cultural environment (Bourdieu’s culturalspecialists, Florida’s creative class) are making the most of opportunities actively to participatein the arts through manipulation of pre-existing art forms and the use of cultural products tocreate and make salient their identities. Those who lack these creative resources, in contrast,do not have the opportunities to participate in the same way, consuming primarily mainstreamcultural offerings such as blockbuster films and “top 40” albums. This reinforces and updates find-ings by DiMaggio, Bourdieu, Douglas and Isherwood and others who discuss connectionsbetween artistic taste and consumption and social identity and networks.

Sara SkilesDepartment of Sociology,

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USAEmail: [email protected]# 2009, Sara Skiles

Cultural Trends 113

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