Art world

[2] An art world, as with any segment of society, is defined in terms of mutually understood conventions (social norms, roles, and institutions) that are the basis for cooperative activity between members of a group who may not interact directly.

They span the globe but cluster in art capitals such as New York City, London, Los Angeles, and Berlin.

[4] There are a number of roles for those actively involved in the creation of new works of fine art, but the exemplar remains the lone artist or a close collaboration.

Contemporary artists allude to this group practice in their establishment of studio workshops or "factories", or by having works fabricated by industrial methods according to their plans and specifications.

In most of these group practices, the authenticity associated with fine art is maintained by the artist either doing the essential work, closely supervising others, and giving final approval to the finished piece by signing it.

Commercial art fairs are essentially temporary galleries that benefit from the attraction of public interest and competition between collectors.

In 1964 critic and philosopher Arthur Danto published an essay defining "The Artworld," in terms of artistic theory.

[11] At the beginning of the 21st century, Danto stated that contemporary art does not speak for itself, but has meaning only in reference to art-world discourse.

An example is the failure of imitation theories, in which art was judged solely by it faithful representation of nature, to account for works which used form and color to express emotions, giving rise to formalism.