Inside Culture: Art and Class in the American Home [Hardcover]

David Halle (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226313670 | ISBN-13: 978-0226313672 | Publication Date: February 7, 1994 | Edition: 1

Dubbed as "You Are What You Hang (or Don't)" by the New York
Times, Inside Culture takes us on a tour of 160 homes in and
around New York City, from affluent townhouses on Manhattan's Upper East
Side and rowhouses in blue-collar Brooklyn to middle and upper-class
suburbs of Long Island. The result is an unprecedented portrait of the
use of cultural artifacts—fine art, photographs, religious art—in
private lives.

"This is a first-class addition to what we know about culture in the
specific rather than the abstract."—Howard S. Becker, Contemporary
Sociology

"This book is well worth reading, especially in your own home."—Eugene
Halton, American Journal of Sociology

"David Halle's researches earned him a license amateur voyeurs would
kill for. . . . Refreshing for readers outside his discipline."—Peter
Campbell, London Review of Books

"[This book] tells us interesting things about ourselves. . . . It
affords us a birds-eye view of American culture from which we can see .
. . unsuspected patterns of tastes and acquisitions."—James Gardner,
Washington Times

"[A] voyeuristic thrill. . . . Lucid and entertaining. . . . A
fascinating book that will open the eyes of anyone who's ever glibly
said about art, 'I know what I like.' After reading Inside
Culture, they'll also know a little bit more about why."—Maureen
Corrigan, New York Observer

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

By visiting scores of upper-class, working-class, and middle-class homes in the New York City area and examining the artwork displayed therein, Halle has attempted to understand and explain the complex web of meaning that art has in the setting of the home. His idea that purchasers create meaning in their artworks, subject to some interaction with the dominant world of artists, art critics, and gallery owners, is well worth pursuing. Although his narrow geographical focus and overreliance on statistics can be faulted, the scarcity of studies of the artworld from the perspective of the consumer--rather than the dictates of the cultural elite--recommend the inclusion of this book in collections concerned with art, popular culture, or sociology.
- David McClelland, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 278 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (February 7, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226313670
• ISBN-13: 978-0226313672
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent dissection of artistic taste among social classes, November 8, 2001

By 

nycgirl "nycgirl" (new york city) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Inside Culture: Art and Class in the American Home (Paperback)

This book is a fascinating documentary of art in modern american homes of all races, religions, and socioeconomic classes. Detailed, in-depth, and filled with amazing observation, You will realize why abstract art is frowned upon by the lower classes, why religious crosses and art are virtually absent from the upper class homes, why african/primitive art is found in both black and white neighborhoods, why landscapes are so popular among all classes, and other sociological phenomena on artistic taste and design in today's homes. Halle and his team have backed up all their findings with stats and references, so it's very handy if you're doing research.

Halle was one of my professors at UCLA who constantly amazed his classes with his knowledge on art and society; discussing the merits of Mies and Le Corbusier. Although this may be considered a university course book, it does not read like one. Instead it reads pleasurably and smoothly like a good novel--I myself curl up with it as a comforting, interesting read.

If you are interested in the psychology of design and art on today's society, take a moment to read this. I still read this book over and over again, and always finish feeling fascinated and enlightened.

3 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Silly, pretentious, and without a cohesive thesis, March 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside Culture: Art and Class in the American Home (Paperback)

I did not find this book entertaining or informative. It appears to be a general survey work, lacking in testable theories, and largely the result of data mining. Terms are loosely defined, and the "Scientific" portions of the data are laughable. One chart claims to represent "Political affiliation of residents who have primitive art, by their attitude to the art" and, remarkably, people have only two attitudes at all - co-equal with western art, or "disrepect or in Darwinian terms" Even better, the total who view with "disrespect" was 15 people. Quite the illustrative survey. The sort of garbage that gives all liberal arts a bad name.