Profit rather than politics: the production of Lenin monuments in Soviet Latvia

The archived documents on outdoor sculpture commissions in Soviet Latvia reveal that the thesis of art having been colonized by the Communist party is too simplistic. Sculptors and architects had vested business interests in monument production. Until the mid-1950s, the cream of academically-educated Latvian sculptors was sidelined by Russians who mass-produced concrete replicas of statues portraying Lenin or Stalin. The majority of the works came through the mass production of works of visual propaganda in the Māksla art factory. Also, less-talented local sculptors were able to find a role satisfying the demand for cheap, decorative sculpture. Looking for ways to access this market, the local art elite invented aesthetic and semiotic arguments in support of the original, locally-made, Lenin sculptures that would be cast in permanent materials and could serve as the spatial organizers of new communist rituals in the urban environment for which they won municipal commissions resulting in the reconstruction of central squares in Latvian towns. What this means is that artists driven by their mercantile interests and not by ideology played an active part in elaborating the aesthetics of communist ideology, and therefore provided support for the dominant discourse of power relations.     

The Copyright Royalty Tribunal: New Arena for Communications Industry Confrontation

Drawing from in-depth qualitative research of poetry communities in New York City and Toronto, Canada, and grounded in theories of gift relations and Bourdieu's conception of fields of literary production (1996), this article argues that the sustainability of the arts must include visions of sustainability that extend beyond the economic if they are to be true to the internal experience and definitions of fields of artistic production. This article argues that relations among poets can be understood as exemplars of a gift economy and that these gift relations among poets contribute to the sustainability of this artistic field and career. A model of how gift relations are patterned among poetry communities is proposed to more clearly articulate the patterns of this process.     

Women Behind the Scenes in the Performing Arts

Within Ireland, interest in strategically supporting young people's participation in the arts has increased. Additionally, awareness of the Internet's potential for promoting engagement with the arts has grown. Addressing national directives and local needs assessments, South Dublin County Council's Arts Office initiated NOISE South Dublin (http://www.noisesouthdublin.com), an interactive Web site based on Australia Council's NOISE project (http://www.noise.net), to promote the creative development of young people in the county. This article presents the practical challenges and potential of youth arts Web-based programs for harnessing the creative engagement of youth. It concludes that the Internet is only useful if it expands online engagement offline.     

Arts and Culture Indicators in Community Building: Project Update

The author questions the arts support system in post-Communist Romania, examining whether the cultural policies during 1990-2006 have contributed to the development of the arts sector, the enhancement of artistic creativity, and the independence of artists. His analysis focuses on the institutional framework and the financing mechanisms that support artists. The author argues that the institutional configurations and the collective mentalities that dominate the cultural sector and public policy have strongly influenced cultural policy in Romania. Along with the economic difficulties, the weighty legacy of the centralized authoritarian state and the paternalistic attitude that dominated for so long in Romanian history have acted as constraints on the public support for the arts and artists. The post-Communist cultural policy remains dependent on historical patterns and, despite some attempts of reform in the late 1990s, it is only recently that a noninterventionist policy and a more effective arts support system emerged.     

Gallery Districts of Barcelona: The Strategic Play of Art Dealers

This article focuses on Barcelona's art market to explore the underlying factors behind the clustering of art dealers in several of the city's districts. Drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data, the article analyzes how such clustering reveals a strategic action in the sense attributed to it by Crozier and Friedberg (1981 Crozier, Michel and Friedberg, Erhard. 1981. L’acteur et le système, Paris: Éditions du Seuil.  [Google Scholar]). Gallery districts are not a reflection of structural factors (economic, urban development-related, or social) but are the result of a combination of strategic choices—either individual or collective—which explain the permanence of leading gallery districts or the emergence of new ones.     

Art Fairs as a Medium for Branding Young and Emerging Artists: The Case of Frieze London

ABSTRACT

While previous researchers have attempted to explain the uncertain quality of visual arts with reference to branding theory, they have overlooked the role of art fairs. Socio-cultural approaches to branding allow us to explore the function of intermediaries in valuing contemporary arts. This article aims to analyze the role of art fairs in the process of branding young and emerging artists. In particular, a prestigious art fair, Frieze London, serves as an instrumental case study for developing a systematic understanding of art fairs in terms of valuing and branding contemporary art.     

高职电脑艺术设计专业的理念和建设

通过对我国艺术设计类高等职业教育现状和优势的分析，详细说明了北京政法职业学院电脑艺术设计专业的理念和建构，进一步提出了电脑艺术设计专业建设过程中存在的一些问题和解决建议。     

艺术的审美接受与构建和谐社会

构建社会主义和谐社会,主体是人,关键在人,在于人对世界全面、完整、和谐的科学把握。人对世界的把握方式多种多样,但必不可少地需要有艺术的即审美方式的把握。这就产生了艺术的审美接受问题。艺术的接受可分为审美接受和非审美接受,审美接受又分为一般读者的欣赏性接受与批评家的批评接受。审美接受在建设和谐社会中具有自我教化功能。     

区别而论的责任体系：《鹿特丹规则》履约方制度的引入——兼论《中华人民共和国海商法》的选择

联合国大会2008年12月通过的《鹿特丹规则》引入了全新的主体制度,即履约方制度。在面对困扰中国海事司法实践已久的港口经营人法律地位问题时,有学者认为履约方制度恰能解决该问题;在当前修改《中华人民共和国海商法》（简称《海商法》）的背景下,海商法学界也出现了呼吁将履约方制度引入《海商法》的观点。但是,履约方制度并不能解决港口经营人的全部问题,解决《海商法》现有问题也并非只能依赖履约方制度的引入。     

为文艺通俗化大声疾呼——1942年晋冀豫边区文化人座谈会期间的赵树理

赵树理坚持通俗化、大众化文艺方向,却不为太行文艺界所承认。在1942年太行文化人座谈会上,杨献珍等领导旗帜鲜明地支持赵树理的观点,对某些文化人脱离政治、脱离现实、脱离群众,忽视通俗化、大众化的错误倾向进行了批评。至此,党在抗日战争时期的文化(文艺)政策得到很好的贯彻落实。