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Art for Pleasure or for Burden; Visual Art in Public and Semi-Public Spaces
Art for Pleasure or for Burden; Visual Art in Public and Semi-Public Spaces
Monday, 16 July 2018: 15:30-17:20
Location: 206E (MTCC NORTH BUILDING)
RC37 Sociology of Arts (host committee) Language: English
In his book on architecture and sociology in Oslo (1998), the respected Norwegian sociologist and philosopher Dag Østerberg (1938-2017) describes how architecture may be experienced as a relief or a burden, depending on the cultural knowledge of the users. In a similar way, I have used the dichotomy pleasure and burden to describe how people experience visual art in public and semi-public spaces; for example art at work or art placed in public buildings (schools, hospitals, libraries, etc.), public parks, public squares, streets and highways, memorial sites, airports, etc. This session calls for papers examining public and semi-public art and how people in general, the public art audience, experience art in their everyday life, placed in the mentioned kinds of public and semi-public spaces. How does people experience the art? Does it lead to pleasure, enthusiasm and inspiration? Or is it a burden; is it controversial and create media debates (and in that case, how do they appear), or is it indifferent to most people in the current workplace, building or among people passing by? Papers may describe one or more examples of public or semi-public art, as well as the reactions to the current artworks. If possible, it may well also describe the social background, education and income of people in “the public art audience”, and possible connections between cultural knowledge (cultural capital) and how they experience art in different kinds of public or semi-public spaces.
Session Organizer:
Chair:
Oral Presentations