From atypical to paradigmatic? The relevance of the study of artistic work for the sociology of work

Abstract

Artistic work has been mainly defined in modern industrial societies by its atypical features vis à vis standard productive work; in post-industrial societies, however, it becomes increasingly considered as paradigmatic of a new "creative class", including workers within a variety of knowledge and creative sectors. The article discusses this paradox offering a sample of key contributions offered by sociology to the study of artistic work and professions, useful to uncover the ideological bias hidden behind the supposedly new significance of artistic work within creative economies. It thus introduces and discusses the essays collected in the special issue linking them to the ongoing changes on the nature of work in contemporary societies.

Mixed Method Approaches for Data Collection in Hard-to-reach Populations

“…In that specific ideology, vulnerability was seen as the normal state of the 'artist', who is never certain of what will come next in terms of ideas, work, and income. However, as atypical as it may seem, this kind of romantisation of social vulnerability was previously described by Boltanski and Chiapello (1999) as a major part of the 'new spirit of capitalism' and seems today to extend to all sectors of the labour market (Menger, 2002;Perrenoud & Bois, 2017;Bataille et al, 2020). The ideological advent of the 'entrepreneur' as a new and hegemonic anthropological paradigm in ultraliberal societies relies on that romanticisation of vulnerability: On online service job platforms, for example, everyone is supposed to commit to the 'adventure' of 'independent' work to 'be creative' and self-motivated in a general context of increasing precarity.…”