From Library Journal
Shrum (sociology, Louisiana State Univ.) debunks here the common conception that what distinguishes "high" from "popular" art is the social class of their respective adherents. Instead, he posits the importance of the critic or, more precisely, the credence given to critics as the determinant of "high" art. This credence results from what Shrum describes as the "status bargain," in which devotees of "high" (but not "low") art give up partial rights of control to their opinions in exchange for the higher status that competent discourse about art provides. Standards are not inherent in a work of art; they are socially constructed within contexts of evaluative discourse, largely through the mediation of the critic. Shrum uses the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, perhaps the world's largest and most diverse art festival, as his principal case study. Thoroughly researched and convincingly argued, with a minimum of jargon, the book will nevertheless appeal primarily to sociologists of culture, "high" art critics themselves, and scholars of contemporary theater.?Rob Melton, Univ. of Kansas Libs., Lawrence
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
A solid sociological investigation, one that employs anecdote, interview, statistical analysis, and even some between-the-lines common sense.
