Pierre Bourdieu Photography A Middle-Brow Art

The book Photography: A Middle-Brow Art (original French work Un art moyen published in 1965) by Pierre Bourdieu, a master of French sociology, is a classic of cultural sociology and image research. Boudieu pointed out in the book that the public's seemingly unique and spontaneous daily photography behavior (such as family photos, travel records, wedding photography, etc.) is actually deeply constrained and systematically shaped by social class, group norms and cultural habits (Habitus)**. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The core arguments and sociology insights of this work mainly cover the following three dimensions:

1. Why "Middle-Brow Art"?

Boudieu defines photography as "middle-class art" (or translated as sub-class art, popular art), because its positioning in the cultural class is extremely awkward: [1]

Lack of legal system support: Unlike painting, music or literature, photography had a mature academic system, classic evaluation standards and strict legality certification at that time.

Low technical threshold: Anyone can take photos as long as they press the shutter. This technical popularity makes it difficult to have the "exclicivity" of highlighting the elite identity as naturally as traditional high art.

Public accessibility: It is a kind of cultural practice that everyone can participate in, between elegant culture and popular culture. [1]

2. The social function and class practice of photography

The book combines anthropology observation and questionnaire survey to reveal how different social classes show completely different "tastes" and social needs through photography: [1, 2]

Working Class (Lower Classes) - Functionalism orientation: Grassroots public photography is mainly for solemnization and family cohesion. They take photos at weddings, festivals or family reunions in order to leave collective memories and strengthen social integration. For them, the value of photos lies in "what is taken" (function and emotion), not "how to take it" (aesthetic form). [1,2,3,4]

Bourgeoisie and Intellectuals - Aesthetics and Distinction Orientation: In order to get rid of the "tacky" family practical function of photography, photography enthusiasts, Camera Clubs and professional photographers will strive to pursue the precision of technology and the exquisiteness of aesthetics. They try to give photography "artistic dignity" by shooting unusual subjects and using complex compositions and light and shadow, thus declaring that they have higher cultural capital and drawing a clear line with the general public. [1, 2, 3]

3. The foundation of the core sociology concept

This book is an important milestone in the early development of Boudieu's core theory, and laid the empirical foundation for his later weight-level masterpiece "Separation: Social Criticism of Taste Judgment": [1]

Cultural habit (Habitus): The social structure and class background of personal internalization, in the subtlety, determine which scene you will choose to press the shutter on and what object.

Social Distinction: Taste is not a purely objective aesthetic judgment, but a field of class struggle. People promote their social status through the consumption and judgment of cultural products (such as photography). [1, 2, 3]

To sum up, Boudieu broke the romantic myth that "photography is free creation" through this work, proving to the world that how our lens focuses actually depends on our position in the social structure. [One, two]