Classification in Art

TLDR

Societies' artistic classification systems vary along four dimensions: differentiation, hierarchy, universality, and boundary strength. A framework is proposed to analyze the relationships between social structure, patterns of artistic consumption and production, and the ways in which artistic genres are classified. The framework’s mechanism links the four classification dimensions to formal social structure, educational organization, and cultural relations, and shows that ritual classification dynamics depend on whether artistic production is commercial, professional, or bureaucratic. This framework helps to integrate findings of consumption surveys and to explain the emergence of new artistic genres as a form of ritual classification.

Abstract

A framework is proposed to analyze the relationships between social structure, patterns of artistic consumption and production, and the ways in which artistic genres are classified. This framework helps to integrate findings of consumption surveys and to explain the emergence of new artistic genres as a form of ritual classification. Societies' artistic classification systems vary along four dimensions: differentiation, hierarchy, universality, and boundary strength. These dimensions are affected by formal characteristics of social structure, the organization of educational systems, and internal relations among cultural dimensions. The dynamics of ritual classification are mediated according to whether artistic production is carried out through commercial, professional, or bureaucratic means.