ABSTRACT
Traditionally, high culture was a sphere separate from consuming. A spectator was supposed to contemplate or study, say, paintings and sculptures in an art gallery in silence and, often, solitude. A serious spectator was expected to acquire the correct type of knowledge by studying the discipline, movement or artist, and comparing particular works. Authority resided in the authorial artwork, with meanings ascribed it by the creator and debated by professionals, such as art historians and museum curators.
