French Literature Reviews - 2026
Xavier Greffe, Arts et artistes dans la société créative
History, Politics and Society
Contemporary society invites us all to be creative, and the arts and artists are called upon to help us rise to this challenge by adapting our capacities for creativity, embellishing our objects and our spaces, and fostering the social bonds necessary for our cohesion. Artists would thus become the "engineers of emotion" envisioned two centuries ago by Saint-Simon, thereby enabling the convergence of artistic and economic values. Yet, is it truly the same kind of creativity?
Amid the din of various forms of creativity, the one championed by the creative society aims to satisfy recognized needs as best and as quickly as possible. Whereas the logic of societal creativity must trace upward from a precise need to its source, that of art flows downward from its source by exploring new avenues of expression. A tension may thus arise between artistic and economic values—a tension catalyzed today by a big data economy that reduces the individuals whom art once sought to enlighten to mere data-bearers, manipulated by a digital image that provokes rather than informs. Both even make the virtual realm, including the metaverse, the arena for reconciling these opposing values. But do these virtual experiences not amount to mere simulation, whereas those of the physical world enrich the reflection of social actors?
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1. When the creative society looks at the arts
… extrinsic values override intrinsic values…
… the flow outweighs experiences
… the techno-economic framework embeds artistic activities
Chapter 2. The fractures of artistic osmosis
From the work of art to automation
From citizen to data-bearer
Chapter 3. A generalized popular culture
In the age of the digital image and its grammar
Towards a new ecosystem?
The metaverse: Settling all accounts?
Chapter 4. In the din of creativities
What science fiction works are already telling us…
Between creativity and creation
Between the mechanical and the organic
Conclusion, Bibliography, Index
Read an excerpt on the publisher's website...
The intersections between creative industries, cultural policy, and socioeconomic structures represent a significant area of inquiry within contemporary sociological and economic studies. Scholars in these fields frequently examine how institutional frameworks, technological shifts, and market demands influence cultural production and shape the status of the artist in modern society.
Readers interested in the intersections of contemporary culture, economics, and sociology may find this study relevant to their inquiries. The volume explores themes such as the digital image, the implications of a data-driven economy for individuals, and the distinctions between standardized societal creativity and artistic expression across its chapters, touching upon topics ranging from popular culture and automation to the role of virtual spaces like the metaverse in mediating cultural values.