bsherwin: I've been thinking about ageism, sexism, and racism within the contemporary art world... as in how artists are labeled or treated due to age, gender, or race... anyone have a story to share? I'm working on an article about this subject for FineArtViews-- so replies will help with research.
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via canvoo.com
I've noticed a few good articles lately on the topic of the artist as social object. The idea of a person as social object being a large factor in their success and perceived value to their field is interesting. It helps explain some of the puzzling things I've seen for women and people in other "marked" groups in fields where they are starkly in the minority. My own experience pertains to VC-funded entrepreneurship and physics.
In the areas where I do have the experience to make well-founded observations, I've noticed that work by women especially is weighed more in terms of the woman's status as a social object, whereas men's work is valued more purely on it's own merit.
This different in assessment isn't necessarily a barrier to success, there are female physicists and entrepreneurs who make their network of collaborators, mentors, etc work for them. It can be argued that social acceptance of a person as a contributor to a field provides an overview of their contributions, and is as valid as examining the individual pieces they contribute to their field. It does make apples to apples comparisons difficult, and there can be (and often are) situations where simply being in a starkly under-represented group and not fitting the "profile" of a successful contributor becomes a double whammy; when that fit - the person's role as a social object - is also a major criterion for acceptance.
So what happens when we turn this idea of a person as a social object in the arts? How can the weight given to the social aspects of an artist's career differentially affect people who are already "marked" (marked = a "woman artist" or a "Hispanic Artist" etc, as opposed to simply "an artist")?
I suspect that the source of much of the prejudice people report may lie less in attitudes that people who are older or female or non-white are in some way inferior artists, and more in the subtleties of an artist as social object who doesn't match the social milieu.
Just my 2.5 cents. Hope it helps.