Socioeconomics and the Core System

A few days ago, Brandon and I got to talking about the socioeconomics of culture and precisely what factors allow for the aggregations of people that seem to allow for culturally vibrant areas to form. Lots of points were brought up (that I'll have to remember to take a couple blogs to go through and address individually), but an interesting question that's been festering with me ever since is: do different socioeconomic classes create uniquely specific types of cool? And, if so, do they fit into the existing Flynn/Hwang conceptual superstructure for cool?

The deliniation line, I feel, falls in the nature of the performer to the art itself. "High-brow"/"wealthy" art creates the constant distinction between the artist and the art that is being created. "High-brow" art, even when it is appropriated from originally low-brow sources finds itself into this construct. (e.g. Jazz, which is now performed in formal wear on a stage in static stadiums)

Much "low brow," traditionally synomymous with "low class" art, always blends this distinction. Consider the folk dances and peasant art of medieval Europe, or the current state of rap and hip-hop as active, dance-able genres.

This actually fits pretty nicely into the Flynn/Hwang superstructure. If you remember, the four categories are:

Hardcore: Emphasizing honesty of expression, passion, true expression of values, externalized performance, and the possibility of shared experience. (e.g. John Lennon, Jimmy Page)

Dylancore: Emphasizing the same values as hardcore, but internalized towards the individual as the true path towards authenticity. (e.g. Bob Dylan, Linda Perhacs)

Fab-Core: Emphasizing fakeness, outlandishness, kitsch, artificiality, and reveling it ironically. (e.g. RuPaul, Britney Spears)

Warhol-Core: Emphasizing the values of Fab-Core, but internalizing it as a type of authenticity and integrity in of itself. (e.g. Andy Warhol, The Decemberists -- what I've argued elsewhere is the "Generation Y" aesthetic)

Using the critereon above, the high-brow consumes the latter two categories, while the low-brow takes the former. In the hardcore and Dylancore scenarios, the artist is always considered part and parcel of the work being created, while Fab and Dylan core set the stage for the artistic flexibility of irony and distance from a work that allows for the break between artist and art. (Obviously, these categories are not strict, as many artistic styles can be considered 'transitional' in their outlook)

Employing the historical cycle that we posited earlier actually creates a neat little system that reflects the actual movement of artistic styles throughout history. Perhaps nowhere quite as immediately as the broad category of indie music. But this will have to be discussed further later, now I sleep.