NATHALIE HEINICH

a French sociologist, is a research director at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). Besides numerous articles in academic and cultural journals, she has published more than thirty books, dealing with the status of the artist and the notion of the author, contemporary art, the issue of identity, the history of sociology and values.

4 p.m.
Les Immateriaux 30 Years Later: Memories of a Sociological Survey
In 1985, I was working as a sociologist for the Centre Georges Pompidou, conducting surveys on the audience of the Center itself and on their exhibitions. Having been given the opportunity to study »Les Immatériaux«, I chose to focus on the audience's perceptions and reactions. I discovered how deep the misunderstandings between the conceptors' innovative aims and their actual reception could be. More important for me, I also discovered new methods of investigation into exhibitions' audiences. Almost thirty years later, this symposium offers me the opportunity to come back to these exciting moments.