Journals / Çevrimiçi Müzik Bilimleri Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 11 Sayı: 2

Listening to the artist’s identity: Music, artist, and hegemony

Sanatçı kimliğini dinlemek: Müzik, sanatçı ve hegemonya

Selim Tan(Ankara Müzik ve Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi, Müzik Bilimleri ve Teknolojileri Fakültesi, Müzikoloji Bölümü, Ankara, Türkiye)0000-0002-1343-9157
Pages
807–819
Publication Date
2026-05-04
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

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⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Thus, from a Gramscian perspective, artists – who are intellectuals by nature – can become key subjects influencing musical reception by assuming the organic or traditional intellectual roles within the hegemonic order.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This paper argues that musical reception is not merely an aesthetic experience but a sociomusical process shaped by the artist’s identity and political stance within hegemonic relations.
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Key Findings & Data:For Frith (1996), listeners’ emotional alliances formed with the performer and the performer’s other listeners are crucial for understanding how the bond with the artist is constructed.
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Conclusion & Impact:Thus, from a Gramscian perspective, artists – who are intellectuals by nature – can become key subjects influencing musical reception by assuming the organic or traditional intellectual roles within the hegemonic order.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:2001 Verileri
⚙️Variables:müzik · sanatçı · hegemonya

Abstract

This paper argues that musical reception is not merely an aesthetic experience but a sociomusical process shaped by the artist’s identity and political stance within hegemonic relations. For Frith (1996), listeners’ emotional alliances formed with the performer and the performer’s other listeners are crucial for understanding how the bond with the artist is constructed. In conditions of heightened political intensity, the artist’s political stance, articulated through their practices and statements as part of their public image, directly influences musical reception. Following Shiner’s (2001) account of the “invention of art,” it demonstrates that the concepts of art and the artist are historically linked to the rise of the bourgeoisie, highlighting how the connotations of “genius” and “freedom” have served as ideological foundations defining the artist’s social role. In this regard, the paper examines anecdotes about the image of the artist, which Kris and Kurz (1934/1979) trace back to antiquity. By focusing on “listening to the artist’s identity,” this paper demonstrates how the artist’s political position transforms musical reception itself. The artist emerges as a symbolic center of power, shaped through discursive processes that extend beyond the individual subject, carrying historical and social meanings and representing political positions. Within the framework of Gramsci’s (1947/2021) theory of hegemony, it is argued that artists have the potential to produce either “consent” or “resistance” within the hegemonic order, as organic or traditional intellectuals. This paper presents a theoretical/critical review based on an interpretive reading of key literature and publicly available materials. Finally, it concludes that, because of the historical and ideological construction of the concepts of art and the artist, the artist’s political stance can influence the listener’s aesthetic experience. The paper highlights that the political alliance in which the artist, as a hegemonic subject, participates structures the emotional alliances listeners form with the artist. Thus, from a Gramscian perspective, artists – who are intellectuals by nature – can become key subjects influencing musical reception by assuming the organic or traditional intellectual roles within the hegemonic order.

Özet

Bu çalışma, müziksel alımlamanın salt estetik deneyimin ötesinde sanatçının kimliği ve politik tutumunun hegemonik ilişkiler içindeki konumlanışıyla şekillenen sosyomüziksel bir süreç olduğunu savunur. Frith’e (1996) göre dinleyicilerin icracıyla ve icracının diğer dinleyicileriyle geliştirdiği duygusal ittifaklar, sanatçıyla kurulan bağın nasıl oluştuğunu anlamak açısından önem taşır. Bilhassa politik hareketliliğin arttığı koşullarda sanatçının politik tutumu gibi kamusal imgesini şekillendiren eylem ve söylemleri, müziksel alımlamayı doğrudan etkiler. Çalışmada, Shiner’ın (2001) “sanatın icadı” yaklaşımı doğrultusunda sanat ve sanatçı kavramlarının tarihsel olarak burjuvazinin yükselişiyle ilişkili olduğu gösterilir; “deha” ve “özgürlük” gibi çağrışımların ise sanatçının toplumsal rolünü etkileyen ideolojik temelleri oluşturduğu vurgulanır. Bu kapsamda Kris ve Kurz’un (1934/1979) antikçağa kadar dayandırdığı sanatçı imgesine dair anekdotlar üzerinde durulur. Çalışma, “sanatçı kimliğini dinlemek” olgusu bağlamında sanatçının politik konumunun müziksel alımlamayı nasıl dönüştürdüğünü ortaya koyar. Sanatçı; tekil bir özne olmanın ötesinde söylemsel süreçler tarafından şekillenen, tarihsel ve toplumsal anlamları taşıyan ve politik konumları temsil eden simgesel bir güç odağı olarak belirir. Bu kapsamda Gramsci’nin (1947/2021) hegemonya teorisi çerçevesinde sanatçının organik veya geleneksel entelektüel olarak hegemonik düzende “rıza” veya “direniş” üretme potansiyeline sahip olduğu ileri sürülür. Çalışma, temel literatür ve kamuya açık verilerin yorumlayıcı okunmasına dayanan teorik/eleştirel derleme niteliği taşımaktadır. Sonuç olarak çalışma; sanat ve sanatçı kavramlarının tarihsel ve ideolojik inşasından ötürü, müzik alanında sanatçının politik tutumunun dinleyicinin estetik deneyimini etkileyebildiğini savunur. Çalışmada, sanatçının bir hegemonik özne olarak müdahil olduğu politik ittifakın, dinleyicilerin sanatçıyla kurduğu duygusal ittifakları yapılandıracağının altı çizilir. Böylece Gramsciyen perspektifte doğaları gereği entelektüel bir konumda bulunan sanatçılar, hegemonik düzen içinde üstlendikleri organik veya geleneksel entelektüel roller aracılığıyla müziksel alımlamayı belirleyen başat özneler hâline gelebilmektedir.

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Cite This Article

Tan, S. (2026). Listening to the artist’s identity: Music, artist, and hegemony. Çevrimiçi Müzik Bilimleri Dergisi, Cilt: 11 Sayı: 2, 807–819. https://doi.org/10.31811/ojomus.1862907

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