Back to the (invisible) Académie? The organization of poetry as a “pure” art form

Abstract

Using the case of French contemporary poetry, this article investigates the organization of “pure” art forms. These are highly legitimate art forms which, instead of being profit-oriented, comprise actors who strive primarily for esthetic recognition. The organizational life of such arts is based on a new academy system which is in some regards comparable to that of the 17th century—leading me to call the current system a “return to the academy.” I define an academy system as an assemblage of artistic institutions coupled with public funding for artists and artistic organizations. This two-pronged system organizes the arts along four dimensions: strategic, administrative, ideological, and professional. Its strategic mission is to support artistic creation, spread cultural democracy, and guarantee the construction and transmission of literary heritage. Paradoxically, the State cannot make these choices directly, firstly because of the widely accepted autonomy of art, and secondly because, in a democracy, the State can no longer select artists according to an explicit ideology. The academy is thereby “invisible.” Second paradox, its organization has led to the marketization of pure arts, and the transformation of artists into independent workers providing goods and services. Finally, I discuss how this system fits a new consumerist definition of culture, based on “traces” that have to be recorded and managed as heritage. These findings question the typical narrative that the arts were emancipated from the patronage system thanks to the market, as this does not apply to most artists.