TY - BOOK ID - 2612728 TI - Fringe and fortune : the role of critics in high and popular art PY - 1996 SN - 0691026572 0691227632 PB - Princeton (N.J.) : Princeton university press, DB - UniCat KW - Art and society KW - Art criticism KW - Art et société KW - Art--Critique KW - Class distinction KW - Classes [Social ] KW - Classes sociales KW - Critique d'art KW - Culture [Popular ] KW - Culture de rue KW - Culture des banlieues populaires KW - Culture des classes populaires KW - Culture des quartiers populaires KW - Culture du peuple KW - Culture ouvrière KW - Culture populaire KW - Cultures populaires KW - Distinction entre les classes KW - Klassen [Sociale ] KW - Klassenonderscheid KW - Kunst en maatschappij KW - Kunst--Kritiek KW - Kunstkritiek KW - Maatschappij en kunst KW - Mass culture KW - Pop culture KW - Popcultuur KW - Populaire cultuur KW - Popular arts KW - Popular culture KW - Rank KW - Social classes KW - Sociale klassen KW - Society and art KW - Société et art KW - Volkscultuur KW - Art and society. KW - Art criticism. KW - Popular culture. KW - Social classes. KW - Edinburgh Fringe (Festival) KW - Boston Symphony. KW - British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). KW - Canadian fringes. KW - Daily Telegraph. KW - Festival Times. KW - Festival of Israel. KW - Fringe First awards. KW - Fringe. KW - Gilded Balloon. KW - Holyrood Palace. KW - Kant, Immanuel. KW - Marquis of Tweeddale. KW - Pleasance. KW - Scottish nationalism. KW - accessibility of art. KW - accumulative advantage. KW - aestheticians. KW - amateur critics. KW - amateur performers. KW - attendance. KW - cabaret. KW - centralization. KW - classical canon. KW - competition. KW - cultural capital. KW - discourse practices. KW - discovery myth. KW - discriminating aesthetic. KW - diversity. KW - editorial bias. KW - education. KW - egalitarianism. KW - entertainment. KW - genres. KW - heckling. KW - hegemony theory. KW - iconography of judgment. KW - ideology. KW - intimacy and space. KW - judgment. KW - medical revues. KW - modality of reviews. KW - modern criticism. KW - opening date. KW - painting. KW - performance changes. KW - quality claims. KW - recommendations. KW - reputation. KW - revue. KW - spectators. KW - standards. KW - Culture, Popular KW - Communication KW - Intellectual life KW - Mass society KW - Recreation KW - Culture KW - Art KW - Art and sociology KW - Sociology and art KW - Arts KW - Criticism KW - Classes, Social KW - Caste KW - Estates (Social orders) KW - Social status KW - Class consciousness KW - Classism KW - Social stratification KW - Social aspects KW - Analysis, interpretation, appreciation KW - Edinburgh Festival Fringe KW - Fringe (Festival : Edinburgh, Scotland) KW - Edinburgh International Festival UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:2612728 AB - Why does the distinction between high and popular art persist in spite of postmodernist predictions that it should vanish? Departing from the conventional view that such distinctions are class-related, Wesley Shrum concentrates instead on the way individuals form opinions about culture through the mediation of critics. He shows that it is the extent to which critics shape the reception of an art form that determines its place in the cultural hierarchy. Those who patronize "lowbrow" art--stand-up comedy, cabaret, movies, and popular music--do not heed critical opinions nearly as much as do those who patronize "highbrow" art--theater, opera, and classical music. Thus the role of critics is crucial to understanding the nature of cultural hierarchy and its persistence. Shrum supports his argument through an inquiry into the performing arts, focusing on the Edinburgh Fringe, the world's largest and most diverse art festival. Beginning with eighteenth-century London playhouses and print media, where performance art criticism flourished, Shrum examines the triangle of mediation involving critics, spectators, and performers. The Fringe is shown to parallel modern art worlds, where choices proliferate along with the demand for guidance. Using interviews with critics and performers, analysis of audiences, and published reviews as well as dramatic vignettes, Shrum reveals the impact of critics on high art forms and explores the "status bargain" in which consumers are influenced by experts in return for prestige. ER -