Typy mentalne odbiorców a uczestnictwo w kulturze artystycznej. Refleksje nad wynikami badań przeprowadzonych wśród mieszkańców Krakowa

The subject of this paper is the problem of researching participation in artistic culture. The analysis begins from the thesis that contemporary participation in artistic culture, regarded from the perspective of the individual, is both aesthetic act and social action. Sociological analysis of the participation in artistic culture should therefore be based on the mental attitude of the receiver of culture, which is constructed during the process of defining the situation of participation in artistic culture. This attitude consists in defining the subject of participation (by locating it in the consciousness of the recipients of culture) and defining the relation with this subject (by connections with the type of signification) which together form the basis for distinguishing specific mental types of recipients of artistic culture. Based on his empirical research of the citizens of Cracow, the author then presents the empirical characteristics of the selected types in the context of demographic variables and the respondents’ cultural activity.