Download or read book Social Theories of Art written by Ian Heywood and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 1997-09-30 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This elegantly written book explores the tension between the theory and practice of art, taking issue with the approaches of the New Art History and its deconstructionist critics. It critically examines influential social theories of art from the viewpoint of the artworlds they target and, through a consideration of work by Rorty, Bauman, Gadamer and others, develops a new and fruitful set of connections between ethical, social and art theory that gives central importance to reflexivity as a living and problematic, as well as a theoretical, concept.