The Artist in Society: Understandings, Expectations, and Curriculum Implications

Curriculum Inquiry – Vol. 38 Issue
3. – Jun2008, Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and 9600 Garsington Road,
Oxford. – P. 233-265.In this article, author theorizes three conceptions of the
role of the artist in society and the challenge they present for artistic education. He
discusses three theoretical conceptions: the artist as Cultural Civilizer, the artist as
Border Crosser, and the artist as Representator. Although markedly different,
these three conceptions all view the artist as an agent playing an active role in
society, or a type of cultural worker. The scientist argues that these different views of the artist
are grounded on different cultural discourses, that each of these discourses constructs
the artist as an individual in a particular way, and that each view of the artist
corresponds to specific institutions that mediate the role of the artist in society.
The implications that each of these views has for the curriculum
of artistic education and the preparation of cultural workers are suggested. It is stated that
a contemporary artistic education grounded on these views should affirm the role
of the artist in the public sphere of a democratic society.