The Uses of Art: Contemporary Changes in Cultural Consumption and the Function of Art

Abstract

In recent years aesthetics and cosmopolitanism have been linked in new ways. On the one hand, contemporary research in the sociology of art indicates an increasing openness and a potential cosmopolitanism in aesthetic taste and consumption. On the other hand, aesthetic concepts and ideals play an important but often implicit role in some of the theories of globalization and cosmopolitanism that inform cultural studies. By examining the interaction between these two tendencies and relating it to sociological and aesthetic theories, I will discuss the characteristics and the possible social implications of the apparent new openness. Does it indicate an increasing tolerance and commonality? Or does it rather point towards a new and more individualized understanding of the social function and legitimacy of art?

Habitus, Capital, and Patterns of Taste in Tourism Consumption

“…As Peterson (2005) has found, omnivorousness became “an increasingly common measure of high status over the second half of the 20th century in North America, Europe and beyond” (p. 263). Many surveys yield similar results and “it is therefore fair to conclude that eclectic or omnivore openness to diversity is itself a way of demonstrating a form of distinction” (Eriksson, 2011, p. 479). It is a new form of cultural capital also in the Bourdieusian sense of “cultural resources that are widely considered desirable but not equally available to all” (Ollivier, 2008, p. 142).…”

“…. as it is a hierarchy of knowledge.” Many sociologists agree, as Birgit Eriksson (2011) notes, that the diversity of taste is increasing and cultural consumption is becoming more heterogeneous and unpredictable. But what is important to ask here is that in such an increasing aesthetic openness among highbrow omnivores is the relationship between cultural taste and class weakening.…”

A Framework to The Inventory of Cuture-based Tourism Products

“…Whereas the traditional consumer preferred high culture and avoided other kinds, the new -omnivorous‖ consumer seems to be more open to experience every form of culture (Eriksson, 2011). The cultural consumption has grown and tourism is a fundamental part of this growth fostered at the local, national and international level.…”

Do Cultural Tourism Firms Perform Better Than Their Rivals?

“…Cultural consumption is not characterized by having a direct relationship with the economic level of the consumer, rather the increase of mobility and the change in tastes lead to a mix of consumption patterns [10][11][12]. Indeed, while traditional consumers preferred types of erudite culture and avoided mixing with other types, the new consumer seems more open to experimenting with all kinds of culture [13]. Thus, in general, it is believed that cultural consumption tends to become more heterogeneous and unpredictable.…”