Harrison C. White – författare

In the nineteenth century, the Académie des Beaux Arts, and institution of central importance to the artistic life of France for over two hundred years, yielded much of its power to the present system of art distribution, which is dependent upon critics, dealers, and small exhibitions. In Canvases and Careers, Harrison and Cynthia White examine in scrupulous and fascinating detail how and why this shift occurred. Assimilating a wide range of historical and sociological data, the authors argue convincingly that the Academy, by neglecting to address the social and economic conditions of its time, undermined its own ability to maintain authority and control. Originally published in 1965, this ground-breaking work is a classic piece of empirical research in the sociology of art. In this edition, Harrison C. White's new Foreword compares the marketing approaches of two contemporary painters, while Cynthia A. White's new Afterword reviews recent scholarship in the field.

How much does art provide escape from everyday life, and how much does it aid in controlling life? How are art worlds built and maintained? Are new styles the creations of whim or genius? Or are stylistic changes the product of the social and political world in which the artist lives? How does art itself shape these worlds? How are art worlds built and maintained? In a book that ranges across cultures, artistic forms, and the centuries, Harrison White offers his unique vision of expression and artistic production embedded in a world of complex social networks. Participating in this process, artists, audiences, entrepreneurs, collectors, and critics form identities for themselves and others. Cultural and social forces both near and distant interplay here, often in ways not immediately apparent to observers or even to the participants. With chapter-by-chapter annotated guides to further reading and ideas for field work, this is also a book to be used as an investigative tool for students and general readers. Careers and Creativity will change the way we think about artistic careers, creativity, and the production of meaning in art.

This book shows the readers a lot about careers and creativity and the associated themes. It develops two basic themes: the shaping of identities and particular artworks emerge from a dialogue between artist and art world.

In Markets from Networks, one of America's most influential sociologists unveils a groundbreaking theory of the market economy. Arguing that most economists use overly abstract models of how the economy operates, Harrison White seeks a richer, more empirically based alternative. In doing so, he offers a more lucid, generalized treatment of the market models described in his important earlier work in order to show how any given market is situated in a broader exchange economy. White argues that the key to economic action is that producers seek market niches to maximize profit and minimize competition. As they do so, they base production decisions not only on anticipated costs from suppliers and anticipated demand from buyers, but also by looking at their competitors. In fact, White asserts, producers act less in response to actual demand than by anticipating it: they gauge where competitors have found demand and thus determine what they can do that is similar and yet different enough to give themselves a special niche.Building on these and related insights, White creates new mathematical models of how the economy works and how the interaction of its sectors creates mutual protection from the uncertainties of business. These models provide new ways of accounting for profits, prices, market shares, and other vital economic phenomena. He shows, for example, that prices are determined by the coalescing of local variables rather than set in terms of averages as implied by the "law" of supply and demand. The model of "pure" competition favored by economics is deficient, he concludes, as it fails to account for the varied circumstances of particular industries. Throughout, White draws extensively on case studies of American businesses and on recent mathematical and sociological work on networks. Rivaling standard economic theories with its rich empirical grounding, sheer originality, and scholarly rigor, Markets from Networks will resonate in economics and economic sociology for years to come.