Traditional vs. Modern Art: The Status and Network Antecedents of Visual Art Preferences
Traditional vs. Modern Art: The Status and Network Antecedents of Visual Art Preferences

Summary/Abstract: Sociologists traditionally focus on the power of socio-economic variables as drivers of aesthetic tastesand cultural practices, leaving other important factors outside the purview of analysis. As a remedy, this articlemakes use of recent progress at the intersection of the sociology of culture and network theory to show thatindividual interest in and preferences for art are also embedded in social relationships of a different kind. Datafrom a specially designed survey on personal networks and cultural tastes in Polish society is analyzed. Culturaltaste is measured in detail by presenting respondents with ten color illustrations depicting different styles of visualart. These ten evaluations are then reduced to two significant dimensions (traditional vs. more modern art). Theregressions analyses show distinct relations of network characteristics (such as heterogeneity, type of contacts,density, or associational membership) with the type of art preferred. The findings are interpreted in terms ofsocial influence and affinity between cultural orientations (e.g., openness) and the manners in which social tiesare developed and maintained. Additionally, the article sheds light on distinction patterns by arguing that statusis claimed through specific (modern) preferences.

• Details
• Contents