Reducing Arbitrary Barriers Between the Disciplines Debra Schnell & Jackie Skilling

Image by Clifford Huffman

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY AND THE ARTS A VISUAL CULTURE COURSE VISUAL CULTURE FOCUSES ON EVERYTHING WE SEE, HAVE SEEN OR IMAGINE. FIRST LECTURE CONTENT: CULTURAL DIAMOND* SOCIOLOGICAL TERMS AND THEORIES ART PRINCIPLES, ELEMENTS, AND STYLES VISUAL CULTURE FOCUSES ON EVERYTHING WE SEE, HAVE SEEN OR MAY IMAGINE. OUR COURSE, IS DESIGNED TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE (HOW WE ORGANIZE OUR RELATIONSHIPS) AND THE CULTURE OF A SOCIETY AND HOW ARTISTS (ART, DANCE, MUSIC, AND THEATHER) REFLECT THE SOCIETY’S SOCIAL STUCTURE OR SEEKS TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL CHANGE. THE STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE COMBINES LECTURE WITH A STUDIO LAB. IN THE STUDIO LAB THE STUDENTS MAKE ART PROJECTS THAT VISUALLY REPRESENT WHAT WAS DISCUSSED IN LECTURE. IN THE FIRST LECTURES, WE INTRODUCE THE STUDENT TO WENDY GRISWOLD’S (GRISWOLD, P.16) CULTURAL DIAMOND, A VISUAL MODEL OF THE LECTURE MATERIAL WE WILL BE COVERING, IN ADDITION TO THE TERMS AND THEORIES USED IN SOCIOLOGY AND ART STYLES, PRINCIPLES AND ELEMENTS. SOURCE: GRISWOLD. PG.16

HOW IS VISUAL CULTURE STUDIED ARTISTS FORMALLY CRITIQUE AND STUDY STYLES HISTORICALLY SOCIOLOGISTS EXAMINE SYMBOLS IN THE ART WORK TO IDENTIFY THE CULTURAL MEANINGS OF THE OBJECTS, EVENTS, AND SITUATIONS STUDIED  HOW IS VISUAL CULTURE STUDIED ARTISTS USE THE PRINCIPLES AND ELEMENTS OF ART TO EITHER REFLECT SOCIETY OR IN AN ATTEMPT TO CHANGE SOCIETY. SOCIOLOGISTS EXAMINE THE SYMBOLS CONTAINED IN A WORK OF ART TO ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THE CULTURAL MEANINGS OF THE ARTWORK. FOR EXAMPLE, THE 15TH CENTURY PAINTING BY JAN VAN EYCK, THE MARRIAGE OF GIOVANNI ARNOLFINI AND GIOVANNA CENAMI IS FULL OF SYMBOLS THAT CAN EXPLAIN THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE CULTURE OF THE 15TH CENTURY. THE COLOR OF HER WEDDING GOWN IS GREEN, THE TRADITIONAL BRIDAL GOWN AND SYMBOLIZES FERTILITY. THE DOG IS ASSOCIATED WITH FAITHFULNESS. THERE IS A SINGLE CANDLE IN THE CHANDELIER THAT SYMBOLIZES THAT CHRIST IS PRESENT AT THE SCENE AND THE GROOM’S REMOVAL OF HIS SHOES REFERS TO GOD’S COMMANDMENT TO MOSES THAT HE SHOULD NOT WEAR SHOES WHEN STANDING ON SACRED GROUND. THE BED WITH CANOPIES WAS CALLED “FURNITURE OF ESTATE.” THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT STATUS SYMBOL OF THE TIMES AND WAS PLACED IN THE PRINCIPAL ROOM OF THE HOUSE TO SHOW THE OWNER HAD HIGH PRESTIGE AND SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE. SOME BELIEVE THE MIRROR BEHIND THE COUPLE AND THE ARTIST’S SIGNATURE DOCUMENTED THE MARRIAGE; OTHERS BELIEVE IT MAY NOT BE THEIR MARRIAGE. RATHER IT SIGNIFIES AN ENGAGEMENT.

Jan van Eyck The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami 1434

CULTURAL MEANING ART WORK AS A CULTURAL OBJECT CAN HAVE A SIMPLE AND A COMPLEX MEANING SIMPLE MEANING DENOTES COMPLEX MEANING CONNOTE CULTURAL MEANINGS BECOME A MIRROR OF SOCIAL LIFE EITHER AS A REFLECTION OF OR CHALLENGING THE SOCIAL ORDER   CULTURAL MEANING   WHEN SOMETHING BECOMES A CULTURAL OBJECT THAT SOMETHING IS CHANGED. THE CHANGE INVOLVES MEANING.   MEANING OR SIGNIFICANCE REFERS TO THE OBJECT’S ABILITY TO SUGGEST OR POINT TO SOMETHING ELSE, IN ADDITION TO WHATEVER PRACTICAL OR DIRECT PROPERTIES IT MAY HAVE. TWO TYPES OF MEANING: SIMPLE AND COMPLEX SIMPLE MEANING DENOTES A ONE TO ONE CORRESPONDENCE THIS IS REFERRED TO AS A SIGN AND WHAT THEY STAND FOR + OR - IN MATH FOR INSTANCE. COMPLEX IS FOUND IN THE SIGNS WE TERM SYMBOLS THEY EVOKE A VARIETY OF MEANINGS—SOME OF WHICH MAY BE AMBIGUOUS. SYMBOLS CONNOTE (SUGGEST OR IMPLY) AND PROVOKE POWERFUL EMOTIONS THAT CAN OFTEN BOTH UNITE AND DISRUPT SOCIAL GROUPS. CULTURE IS MADE UP OF COMPLEX RATHER THAN SIMPLE MEANINGS. TO UNDERSTAND CULTURE, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO UNRAVEL THESE TANGLED WEBS OF MEANINGS. WE HAVE TO ANALYZE THE RELATIONSHIP THAT MAY EXIST BETWEEN A SYMBOL ON THE ONE SIDE AND “THINGS EXACTLY AS THEY ARE: ON THE OTHER. THIS RELATIONSHIP CAN BE HIGHLY PERSONAL AND INDIVIDUAL. SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE LOOKS FOR SOCIAL MEANINGS. IN THE CULTURAL DIAMOND, WHAT LINKS CULTURAL OBJECTS WITH THE SOCIAL WORLDS IS MEANING. CULTURAL MEANINGS BECOME THE CULTURE’S ABILITY TO MIRROR SOCIAL LIFE. TWO IMPORTANT SOCIOLOGICAL ANSWERS TO WHERE DOES MEANING COME FROM AND WHAT DIFFERENCE DO MEANINGS MAKE COME FROM VERSIONS OF REFLECTION THEORY—FUNCTIONALISM AND MARXISM. THE MEANING OF THE CULTURAL OBJECT LIES IN THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL PATTERNS IT RFLECTS. TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE CULTURAL OBJECT ONE HAS TO KNOW THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL SYMBOLS OF THE TIME.

REFLECTING OR CHANGING THE SOCIAL WORLD Source: Griswold pg. 26

SIGNS, CODES, AND VISUAL CULTURE SIGN SYSTEMS DETERMINE HOW ART AND DESIGN ARE TO BE INTERPRETED. SHAPES, COLORS, AND TEXTURES ARE USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS, CLASSES SIGNS, CODES, AND VISUAL CULTURE SIGN SYSTEMS DETERMINE HOW ART AND DESIGN OR THE CONVENTIONS OPERATING WITHIN THEM ARE TO BE INTERPRETED. SHAPES, COLORS, AND TEXTURES ARE CONVENTIONALLY ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT SEX/GENDER GROUPS, SOCIAL CLASS GROUPS, AND AGE GROUPS. SOME SHAPES, COLORS OR TEXTURES ARE LINKED WITH CERTAIN GROUPS. MASCULINE—MATTE, BLACK AND RECTILINEAR BOLD, COLORFUL, ODD ANGLES AND DIFFERENT SIZES ARE SEEN AS APPROPRIATE TO CHILDREN. THIS PRODUCES AND REPRODUCES THE IDENTITY OF CHILDHOOD AS HAVING A SPECIFIC MEANING. DIFFERENT TYPES OF PAINTING WILL TAKE ON A DIFFERENT APPEARANCE. TO EXPLAIN THE WAY A WORK LOOKS WE CAN LOOK AT THE GROUPS FOR WHOM THE WORKS WERE PRODUCED. THE TYPE OF ART, THEN, IS A PRODUCT OF THE INTERESTS OF DIFFERENT SOCIAL GROUPS AND THE CONTENT OR SOCIAL GROUPS PORTRAYED IN SOME ART IS ALSO DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE INTERESTS OF THOSE SOCIAL GROUPS. PRODUCERS OF VISUAL CULTURE CAN REPRODUCE, CRITIQUE THE SOCIAL ORDER, OR TRY TO BE NEUTRAL. ONE EXAMPLE OF AN ART WORK THAT REPRODUCES THE SOCIAL ORDER IS GAINSBOURGH’S PAINTING OF MR. AND MRS. ANDREWS. THIS PAINTING ILLUSTRATES THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE COUPLE. MR. ANDREWS HAVING THE LEISURE TO HUNT AND MRS. ANDREWS CLOTHING, ESPECIALLY HER SHOES ARE A SIGN SHE IS NOT OUT IN THEIR FIELDS HARVESTING. AN EXAMPLE OF THE TYPE OF ART THAT WOULD APPEAL TO INDIVIDUALS ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE THE SOCIAL ORDER IS HOGARTH’S SET OF PRINTS ENTITLED MARRIAGE A LA MODE—1745. THE DOMINANT IDEOLOGY OF ENGLISH ARISTOCRATS IN REGARD TO MARRIAGE IS BEING OPPOSED BY THE IDEOLOGY OF THE NEW AND INCREASINGLY POWERFUL BOURGEOISIE. ARISTOCRATS DURING THIS TIME PERIOD MARRIED FOR TWO PRIMARY REASONS: TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF WEALTH POSSESSED BY THE FAMILY OR TO INCREASE THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE FAMILY. THE BOURGEOISIE HAD A DIFFERENT IDEOLOGY THAT DEFINED MARRIAGE FOR THEM AND THEY BELIEVED THAT THE ARISTOCRATIC VERSION OF MARRIAGE WAS IMMORAL AND DECADENT. THIS SERIES OF PRINTS IS POINTING OUT THAT THE ARISTOCRATIC VIEW OF MARRIAGE IS A CREATION OF A SPECIFIC CLASS AT A SPECIFIC TIME AND PLACE AND CAN BY CONTESTED BY ANOTHER CLASS’S VIEW OF MARRIAGE. THE SOCIAL ORDER IS BEING CONTESTED: THE DOMINANCE OF THE DOMINANT GROUP’S IDEOLOGY IS BEING SHOWN AS CORRUPT.

Gainsborough Mr and Mrs Andrews 1748-49 Oil on canvas, 70 x 119 cm National Gallery, London

Hogarth, Marriage Ala Mode

ART AS A SOCIAL PROCESS ART IS A COLLECTIVE ACTIVITY THE ART WORLD CONSISTS OF A PRODUCTION SYSTEM, AND A DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM ART AS A SOCIAL PROCESS IN THIS LECTURE, WE INCORPORATE THE IDEA’S OF BECKER. TO UNDERSTAND THE PRODUCTION OF ART, WE EXPLAIN BECKER’S CONCEPT OF ART WORLDS AND USING THE ADAPTED CULTURAL DIAMOND BY ALEXANDER (ALEXANDER, PG. ), WHICH WE ALSO ADAPT FOR CONTINUITY. THE KEY QUESTIONS THAT BECKER ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER IS: HOW IS ART CREATED, PRODUCED, AND DISTRIBUTED AND WHAT ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CREATORS, DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS, ART WORKS, AND SOCIETY? ART, THEN, IS A COLLECTIVE ACTIVITY RATHER THAN THE WORK OF ONE INDIVIDUAL, A CREATIVE GENIUS. ART IS A PROCESS AND MAKING ART IS A COLLECTIVE EFFORT. THERE IS A DIVISION OF LABOR IN THE ART WORLD. PRODUCTION IS THE PROCESS OF THINKING OF AN IDEA AND BRINGING IT TO COMPLETION. A DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (THE GATEKEEPERS) IS NEEDED TO REACH THE CONSUMER OR RECIEVERS OF THE ART. AND, THE RECEIVERS MUST BE ACCEPTED BY THE RECEIVERS IN ORDER FOR THE WORK TO BE CONSIDERED ART.

Modified Cultural Diamond Source: Alexander, pg. 62

POLITICAL ART THE ART MAY CONTAIN A POLITICAL MATTER, USED TO TAKE A STAND ON AN ISSUE OR POINT OUT A PUBLIC CONCERN IT IS USED TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF AND SENSITIVE TO THE SITUATION POLITICAL ART POLITICAL ARTISTS ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE SOCIAL ORDER BY INSPIRING CHANGE. THEY USE THEIR ART TO CHALLENGE THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND CREATE ART THAT MAY CONTAIN A POLITICAL MATTER, TAKES A STAND ON AN ISSUE, POINT OUT A PUBLIC CONCERN, OR TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE AND BECOME SENSITIVE TO THE SITUATION. SOME ARGUE THAT ALL ART IS POLITICAL AS IT EITHER REINFORCES THE “STATUS QUO” OR CHALLENGES IT. THIS FORM OF ART HAS EXISTED SINCE THE TIME OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS. GREEK PLAYWRIGHTS SPOKE OUT AGAINST WAR THROUGH THEIR CHARACTERS. ARTISTS HAVE PORTRAYED THE HORRORS OF WAR EVER SINCE. SOCIETY STILL HAS RACE, GENDER, AND AGE INEQUALITITES AND OTHER ISSUES OF CONCERN. ART OFTEN IS USED TO POINT THESE CONCERNS AND ISSUES TO AWAKE PUBLIC INTEREST. ONE EXAMPLE OF AN ARTIST SHOWING THE HORRORS OF WAR IS GOYA’S THIRD OF MAY PAINTING OF THE MASSACRE OF THE DEFENDERS OF MADRID. UNARMED MEN ARE NEEDLESSLY BEING MASSACRED. A MORE RECENT EXAMPLE OF POLITICAL ART, POSTED BY JOHN ROBINSON ON SOCIAL POLITICAL ART ON THE INTERNET IS “THE PESTLE AND MORTAR.” IT IS ONE ARTIST’S IDEA OF WHAT WAR IS ABOUT.

GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco de The Third of May, 1808: The Execution of the Defenders of Madrid 1814

Pestle and Mortar

TRANSFORMATIONS IN RESPONSE TO SOCIETAL CHANGE NEW FORMS OF ART MEDIA USED CULTURAL MEANINGS T TRANSFORMATIONS AS SOCIETIES CHANGE, SO DO STYLES OF ART AND THE MEDIA USED TO PRODUCE ART. WHAT IS CONSIDERED ART AS WELL AS ITS MEANING, ALSO CHANGES. NEW FORMS OF ARTISTIC PRODUCTION ARE EMERGING: ASSEMBLAGES, PERFORMANCE ART, AND INSTALLATIONS. NEW MEDIA INCLUDE DIGITAL ART, GRAFFITTI, AND PHOTOGRAPHY. IT IS AN EXCITING TIME IN THE ART WORLD AND AN EXCITING TIME FOR THOSE EXAMINING THE NEW ART SYLES TO IDENTIFY THE CULTURAL MEANINGS OF THE ART. EXAMPLES : GRAFFITTI AND MAPPLETHORPE’S PHOTOGRAPHY.

mapplethorpe Mapplethorpe