How online discourse networks fields of practice: The discursive negotiation of autonomy on art organisation about pages

This article examines how the online discourse of art organisations forges relationships between the artworld and the fields of politics and economy. Combining elements of Pierre Bourdieu’s field analysis and Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, the article analyses an elite art magazine, e-flux, and an elite art museum, IMMA, and the activities of discourses, genres, and utterances on their about pages. Its results suggest that the about pages of these organisations forge links between the artworld and the fields of politics and economy by mobilising discourse in these fields and by incorporating discourse practices from these fields. The ideological tension resulting from this interdiscursivity was found to be managed in different ways. The article thereby contributes to furthering our understanding of how discourse networks fields of practice.