Star Maps, the Lear Center's newest project, is devoted to understanding the networks and geographies through which culture -- whether movies, music, fashion or film -- is produced, distributed and infused throughout society, both locally and globally. This project takes a detailed look into the inner workings of cultural production and the creation of successful cultural producers, particularly celebrities, those cultural producers who establish worldwide recognition or fame. But instead of focusing on just celebrities or cultural producers themselves, Star Maps seeks to understand the networks of people who make decisions about which kind of culture is channeled to the markets and the public, and which is not. Star Maps is documenting the lives and networks of those responsible for producing the culture that infuses our daily lives.
Directed by Elizabeth Currid, assistant professor in the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development, Star Maps takes off from her original study of New York City that became the notable book, The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art and Music Drive New York City (Princeton University Press, 2007).
For more information and some amazing maps, please visit the Star Maps Web site.
| Permalink |
