Issues Reader 6: High and Low Culture 1 11

8/3/2019 Issues Reader 6: High and Low Culture 1 11

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High and Low Culture 1


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Your Final Contextual Issue(choose one to write on for Unit 3)

Choose two brands of the same product and compare their packaging,

design and promotional material. One should reflect the values of high

culture and the other those of low or popular culture. Say what

characteristics and contexts mark each out as high or low. Lastly, discuss

whether and why the boundaries between high and low culture are still

clearly defined or are becoming blurred today. Minimum: 750 words.

Today:

1. Definitions, distinctions and origins

2. Breaking down the barriers between high and low culture today

3. Design, Craft and Media: the effects of this hi/lo crossover

Next week: Analyses of examples, film clip and Text material in this Reader


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Definitions

Culture: Collectively, art, literature and music but also describes how society isorganised in terms of knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of different groups.

High culture: high brow; the highest achievements in society in terms of art,music, literature, ones which are held to be improving and significant

Supported by an exclusive elite of refined or educated taste

Expensive, elegant and collectable

Complex, often difficult to understand, deep, and supported by critical texts Traditional rules and codes established, handed down and followed

Supported by Government funds, housed in official buildings

Low Culture/Popular culture: low brow, consumed by the masses, held to bevulgar, worthless and insignificant

Cheap, easily understood or appreciated, less complex and often amateur.

Consumed passively (no education required, no rules to understand)

Kitsch, trivial, simple, superficial and easily produced

Low value, trivial, throwaway and for fun and entertainment only

Low class consumers and often opposing the ruling elite


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Low Culture High Culture

Theatre/Opera/Ballet

Literature/ Shakespeare

Fine Art

Classical music

Architecture The Times/Guardian

Fine Jewellery

Haute Couture

Indicate those which youmight disagree with.

Cinema

Television

Jeffrey Archer novels

Soap operas

Pop Music Applied arts/design/craft

Game shows

Cartoons

Tattoos Primark /Matalan

The Sun/ Mirror


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THE CANON: This describes the rules and conventions understood by theruling elite which promote social distinctions based on taste and values

Supplies lists; a model or benchmark for quality.

Identifies the best in any field.

Gives values to recognise the significant

Establishes a hierarchy of importance

Identifies universal values and avoids the transient

Explains the taste of the elite (the ruling class) Supplies an ideology a moral authority to teach,decide and govern


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Origins of Culture and

the Canon: The Grand Tour

It was thought that culture was

necessary for a healthy society.

Grand Tour tarted in the 17th century.

Part of the education of wealthy

members of the upper class. Part of a preparation for leadership or

political life.

Travel broadens the mind.

Collected things unavailable in the

home market, creating an elite,

exclusive access to art

A taste or understanding for culture

became important see film clip next

week and this is still with us.


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THIS WAS HIGH CULTURE: the Classical

Tradition for an elite to know and emulate


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However, the worlds of High and Low

Culture have never been so fixed and clear

as it may first seem

Pavarotti tops the charts in 1990.Shakespeares plays and Dickenss novels were once regarded as

popular culture, playing to mass audiences, lacking prestige

Can you think of other cases? (blurring the boundaries/crossover)


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Breaking Down the BarriersToday culture is not the preserve of an educated elite

AS TATE MODERN AND TATE BRITAIN SHOW

Art has become popular for all. Art galleries not only look different but are no longer

the preserve of the elite.

Art is accepted and occasionally understood by all.

The avant-garde is no longer as dominant.


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ART and COMMERCEThis breaks down boundaries too

In the 18th century Josiah Wedgewood commissioned contemporary sculptorsto produce relief designs for his pottery.

Andy Warhol borrowed techniques and attitudes from commercial art as PopArt merged high and low culture


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ART and CRAFTBreaking down boundaries here

Bauhaus 1919 -1933

Craft and design were taughtalongside the fine arts in a commoncourse of study, not seperately nomore hierarchy of importance in art,craft, media and design

Design was now for everyone - nomore expensive, hand made crafts forthe aristocracy exclusively

Do you think that the Bauhausachieved this goal: is design and stylea part of high and low culture today?


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POP AND YOUTH CULTUREMore Breaking Down the Boundaries

Politicians and their iPods

Britpop visits Downing Street in the 90s

Its cool to remain youthful and in touchwith popular culture (Cameron and the

Smiths)


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CULTURAL ICONS More Breaking down the Barriers

Coronation Street.

The Archers.

Beckham meets Mandela:celebrity validation code

Less class and less

professional distinctions, onlyfame matters now it seems...?


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Breaking Down Barriers: Pop & ModernismThroughout the development of Modernism artists have expoited aspects of low

culture in their own, high art, then Pop actually celebrated it wholeheartedly


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Postmodernism

You could regard

Postmodernism today as thelogical conclusion to this processof undermining and exploiting ofthe differences between High andLow Culture

Hirst uses low culture in his(high culture) work

While Postmodern advertisingborrows from High Art in a self

conscious, ironic way (see theabove appropriation)

Sometimes its hard todistinguish art fromadvertisement.


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Design and Media: Cultural Crossover

In recent times exclusive

companies have struggled to

maintain their position or status in

the face of fashion trends where their

brands have been appropriated inthis way e.g. Burberry. Companies

market their products and services to

precisely target groups of consumers.

One wouldnt expect to see exclusive

and expensive products pitched tothe mass market.

The redefining of High and Low

Culture has consequences for these

industries (see next slide)


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APPROPRIATING COLOUR:CULURAL ASSOCIATIONS


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TARGETTING

AUDIENCES

The marketing world,

as we saw with

Stereotypes, tries to tie

specific audiences to

particular products

Attitudes as to what is

high and low culture,

therefore, inform their

marketing campaigns

Assess the following

examples: are they

exploiting high or low

culture values, and

have they chosen the

correct styles for

them?


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TRADITIONAL

PRODUCTS


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Production Values have cultural

associations for us to note


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Production Values

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_6GGDhHzKI

ow oes t s exp o t our un erstan ng o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_6GGDhHzKIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_6GGDhHzKI


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ow oes t s exp o t our un erstan ng ohigh and low culture?


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For Part Two bring in examples relating to your pathway field onesthat play with high and low culture in a similar way to this pair

Next Week: analyses, clips and texts

Issues Reader 6: High and Low Culture 1 11

Documents

Transcript of Issues Reader 6: High and Low Culture 1 11