Full Description
In countries around the world, the rise of class divisions and unbridled capitalism are changing the conventional definitions of art and esthetics. Historically, the philanthropy of the elite has played a leading role in supporting, funding, and distributing artistic works. While such measures may be pure in intent, many worry that private funding may be gentrifying the arts and creating a situation in which art will only be valued for its prestige or, worse, its price tag.
This collection of essays examines the current movement to democratize the arts and make the world of artistic endeavor open and accessible to all.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Contents
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction: Arts and Cultures
Ray B. Browne and Lawrence A. Kreiser, Jr.
Part 1. Folk Roots
1. Cultural Aesthetics: Anthropology and the (In)Visible Values of "Art"
Benjamin K. Urish
2. Garden of the Folk Arts
Ray B. Browne and Lawrence A. Kreiser, Jr.
3. Carnival as Living Element of our Cultural Heritage
Vasiliki Sirakouli
Part 2. Developing the Oversized Spirit
4. Values, Popular Culture and Social Change
Arthur G. Neal
5. Values for and of Popular Culture in a Democracy: Heroic, Superheroic, Hyperheroic?
John Shelton Lawrence
6. Reading "Monolith" Texts: A Consideration of Uluru, Stone Mountain, and Devils Tower as Cultural Intersections
Douglas Noverr
Part 3. Breaking the Cast
7. Artists Taking the High Road and the
Joy Sperling
8. Subversive Children's Stories: The Work of American Book Women, 1930-1980
Amy E. Singer
9. Who Gets to Play? The Hegemony of Copyright and Trademark in Art and Popular Culture
Holly Crawford
10. Negotiating Dissent: The Adrian Mole Diaries and The Young Ones
Janine Utell
Part 4. Promoting the American (and World) Dream
11. Art and Religion: The Power to Persuade
Gregory J. Thompson
12. Selling Culture to the People: Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations in a Changing World
Bob Batchelor
Part 5. Outsider Views of American Cultures
13. The Contradictory Values of U.S. Popular Culture
Mel van Elteren
About the Contributors
Index
