Challenging the Autonomy of Art: An Exploration of the Nature and Impact of Progressive Art Critique

Abstract

In recent years art is often being criticised from a politically progressive perspective, such as on sexism and racism. Such ethical critique collides with two dogmas of the artistic field: its emphasis on aesthetic evaluations and the autonomy of art. These dogmas, having emerged during the nineteenth century, are often challenged by both (upcoming) members of the artistic field and outsiders. This paper aims to sociologically analyse current debates by exploring the media coverage of two diverse art controversies, in the United States and the Netherlands. It shows that members of artistic fields and allies often defend themselves with arguments drawn from said dogmas, while the critics’ counter-arguments are in line with more recent ideas, developed in the humanities. The essay proposes several explanations of this recent phenomenon, related to changing power relations. It calls on scholarship to more structurally study this presumed trend.