The Influence of Norm-Violating Abstract Artists in Modern Day Society William Caycedo University of Amsterdam Bachelor Thesis Social Psychology W.M. Caycedo 10196668 20-05-2015 Supervisor: Eftychia Stamkou Abstract The current research investigated how influential norm violating artists have been in modern culture. Abstract and figurative artists that were active between 1900 and 1950 were studied to investigate if violating the norm was a determinant for abstract artists to gain influence. It was hypothesized that artists that have produced abstract art in the period of 1900-1950 have been more influential in modern culture than artists that have produced figurative art in the same time period. Based on the theory of idiosyncrasy credits by Hollander (1958), it was also hypothesized that artists that have produced both abstract and figurative art have been more influential than artists that have produced only abstract or figurative art. Artists were found on the Internet and their influence was measured by documenting street names, landmarks, movies and books that were made/named after or in respect to the artists, the amount of Google hits when searching for a certain artist and the amount of works represented in museums around the world. Results show that abstract artists have been somewhat more influential than figurative artists and that artists that have produced both figurative art and abstract art have been somewhat more influential than artists that have produced only figurative or abstract art. However, no definitive statements could be made. The Influence of Norm-Violating Abstract Artists In Modern Day Society Social norms are crucial to a full understanding of human behavior and are described by Cialdini et al. (1993) as powerful behavioral directives. They are rules and standards that are understood by members of a society and guide or constrain social behavior without the force of laws (Cialdini & Trost, 1998). When a person violates the norm it is described as behavior that infringes one or more principles of behavior that is accepted by the society in which the norm exists (van Kleef et al., 2011). Many people have witnessed other people violate a norm of some kind such as talking on a cellphone in a study hall or taking something that does not belong to them. Wearing clothes that are not appropriate to a certain situation can also be seen as norm violating, for example wearing gym clothing or red sneakers to a professional setting (Bellezza et al., 2013). Bellezza et al. (2013) in turn found that violating the norm can lead to inferences of enhanced status and competence in the eyes of others. Findings such as that of Bellezza et al. (2013) have been prevalent in the research into norm-violating behavior and perceived status, power or influence. For instance, research has suggested that norm violators are perceived as more powerful than individuals who live by the rules (Van Kleef et al., 2011). Additionally, Van Kleef et al. (2012) found that power is afforded to individuals that violate the norm in a pro-social way. Their analyses also revealed that individuals who break the rules to benefit the group are perceived as more deserving of power. These findings are in line with the approach-inhibition theory of power (Keltner et al., 2003), which states that increased power is associated with social freedom and activates approach-related tendencies. Factors such as these may evoke norm-violating behavior. The findings previously mentioned by Van Kleef et al. (2011, 2012) and Bellezza et al. (2013) show that this effect works both ways. This effect is also found in the world of art, where norm violation can be seen as non-conformity. Non-conformity can be effective in differentiating the non- conformists from others (Maslach et al., 1985; Snyder& Fromkin, 1980, in Griskevicius et al., 2006) and making innovative art (Lena & Patchuki, 2013). Furthermore, Lena and Patchuki (2013) suggested that, by introducing novel artistic content, innovation is a determinant for an artist to gain status. Another determinant for an artist to gain status is the repetition of existing practices within their field of art. Through this repetition artists are able to show that they are competent and that they have respect for the existing norms. When one complies with a group norm, one can build up idiosyncrasy credits (Hollander, 1958). These credits represent an accumulation of positively disposed impressions inferred by the perceptions of group members. Each individual within a group has a certain amount of these credits and can symbolically spend them on deviant behavior before implications are felt. An application is given by Inglis (1996), who examined the case of the Beatles, who first built up idiosyncrasy credit by showing competence and compliance with the norms of the popular music industry. After gaining status through credits, the Beatles were able to deviate from the norm and become innovators by spending the earned credits. In the world of visual arts popular styles have changed throughout the centuries with figurative art being the norm for the most part since the Renaissance (Gombrich, 1995). By the end of the 19th century several art movements took flight with works that are now known as abstract art. At the time, these new movements were considered norm violating and movements such as Cubism completely rejected the norms set by the Renaissance. By the 1950’s, abstract art was an accepted movement itself and was part of the Modernist movement, which rejected traditional forms of art, architecture, philosophy and other aspects of life (Modernism, n.d. In Wikipedia) The current research therefore wishes to apply the mechanism of norm violation and perceived power to the time period of 1900 to 1950 and to investigate how influential norm violating painters have been in modern culture. In this research the term “influential” has substituted “powerful” because it is more applicable to the question at hand. One of the aspects of power is the ability to influence other people (Keltner, 2003), so influence is an appropriate construct to investigate. Based on previous findings that norm-violating individuals are perceived as more powerful and therefore influential, it is possible that artists that have produced abstract art in the period of 1900-1950 have been more influential in modern culture than artists that have produced figurative art (Hypothesis 1). Furthermore, based on the theory of idiosyncrasy credits by Hollander (1958), it can be assumed that artists that have produced both abstract and figurative art have been more influential than artists that have produced only abstract or figurative art (Hypothesis 2). Earlier research has focused on experimental research into the effect of norm- violating behavior on perceived power. By using archival data this research distinguishes itself from previous research on the subject at hand. Furthermore, the usage of visual arts and a specific time period will also shed new light on how influential an artist may be when he or she produces norm-violating or norm- conforming art. Method Materials The present day influence from artists that produced art between 1900 and 1950 will be examined using archival data. A total of 310 artists will be examined in this research; 10 representatives from 31 European countries. The 10 artists will be split into primarily three categories of figurative art, abstract art and both, coded as 1, 2 and 3, respectively. A focus will be put on European artists because Europe has many different countries to research, which are all relatively close to each other. This way it will be possible to investigate how much influence a certain artist had in his or her country as well as other neighboring countries. Adding to the documentation of each artist’s general style, his or her specific style will also be taken into account. This is important, because within a certain style, Impressionism for example, there may be different levels of abstraction and therefore norm-violation. The date of the artist’s birth and death will be documented, to ensure the artist was active during the time period relevant to this research. The variables that will be used to determine the influence of each artist are: street names that have been named after the artists, landmarks that have been made with respect to the artists, movies and/or documentaries that have been made in the artists name or in which an artist is mentioned or featured, the amount of Google hits when searching for a certain artist, the amount of works represented in museums around the world and books written about artists or mentioning them. The countries and the amount of artists per country that were taken into the research are shown in Table 1. Procedure First, for each country ten artists will be searched with the help of the Internet. Wikipedia and Wikiart are two websites that contain enough information to do so. Artists will be selected based on their date of birth and death first. Then they will be selected based on their featured works and their style, which is reported by the aforementioned website. Once all 310 artists have been selected the second part of the examination will commence. First, the amount of Google hits will be documented. By typing each artists name into the search bar followed by “artist”, the amount of hits should be an accurate number of Internet pages that mention the searched artist. Using Google and Google maps, street names and landmarks will be searched by typing each artists name in the search bar. This way a list will appear with all possible streets and/or landmarks. Movies and documentaries will be searched with the Google search engine again and with the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).