Art and the State

The Visual Arts in Comparative Perspective

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by Victoria D. Alexander and Marilyn Rueschemeyer

Palgrave

Due/Published October 2005, 256 pages, cloth

ISBN 140394525X

This book examines the impact of states and their policies on visual art. States shape the role of art and artists in society, influence the development of audiences, support artistic work, and even affect the very nature of artistic production. The book contrasts developments in the United States with art policies in Britain and in the social democratic states of Norway and Sweden. In addition, it analyzes revealing transitions - the changes brought about in East Germany after unification and the experiences of artists who left the Soviet Union for the west. The result is a significant contribution to the sociology and the political economy of art.

Contents

Preface
Introduction
The American System of Support for the Arts: Artists and Art Museums
Enterprise Culture in British Art Policy
Art, Art Institutions, and the State in the Welfare States of Norway and Sweden
East German Art Before and After the End of Communism
Changing States: Russian Immigrant Artists in the United States
Conclusion
References