by Dy-Anne

Created on: March 02, 2007   Last Updated: March 07, 2010

"Art shapes society through audiences." This is probably the truest statement out there. It can be argued that art has many functions. It can be used to entertain, to inspire, to make a statement, to empower or to control. Many sociological discussions have come about what is considered popular art. A mindlessly violent television show is still part of the art world of television, but it has been shown to have had some effect on society with the desensitization of the public in that violence that once was beyond belief is now commonplace. This would be art shaping society.

Subcultures are also a shaping factor in society. Each subculture produces its own art. Tattoos are a perfect example. At one point tattoos were only seen on men from the military, men who had done time in prison, gang members and bikers. Each one of these can be considered a subculture and they each had their own definitive tattoos. After much time tattoos have become so acceptable to society they are no longer part of a subculture of artists but mainstream - one can get a walk-in tattoo at the mall.

Society and art are both affected by the boundaries created and imposed upon it. There are two different types of boundaries; there are physical and symbolic boundaries. Physical boundaries are just that. They are the boundaries created by state, nation and landscape boundaries. Symbolic boundaries are ones that are created by society and the art worlds within the societies.
High and low art forms are symbolic boundaries.

What differentiates an artwork from being considered mainstream or folk-art? It is the boundaries we create that define this. In the physical boundary of the USA a quilt on the whole, is considered to be folk-art. Made by common people who are not considered artists but are considered as more of everyday people. They do not fit the romantic notion of an artist; therefore; they cannot be part of mainstream cultural art. Within a closer-knit community as in church the person/people who have made the quilt may very well be seen as artists because the symbolic boundaries have been created to include the quilter as part of the mainstream culture of art within that smaller society of a church.

Social classes are also institutions that define high and low art forms. It is culturally accepted in the US to believe that Rap and Hip-Hop music are forms of music that typically come from socio-economically deprived inner cities- AKA "the ghetto." Just because the artist may have left his

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