In 1982, Small Group Behavior published an article entitled, “Artists’ Circles and the Development of Artists,” in which Michael P. Farrell examines the development of a group of famous Impressionist artists, including Monet, Cezanne, and Degas.
The author posits this thesis: “…when we examine the developmental history of artists, we find that many works of art, if not the majority, can be viewed as the product of a group.”
Based on his research, Farrell describes the phenomenon and five-stage evolution of artistic circles. Entrepreneurs, who are artists in their own right, can develop as creative leaders by forming their own groups in which they share their experiences of building a company from scratch.
Learn how by reading about the five phases below.
The first phase is formation. Group members often share similar backgrounds. Their taste for art, or in our case, organizations, is also similar, and they repeatedly encounter each other in the same venues. They translate their rejection by established authorities into a shared sense of resistance, which increases their solidarity.
Many in the group exhibit a consistent counter-dependence on authority. They need authority figures in order to pride themselves on not doing what they demand.
In the second phase, the group negotiates shared norms and values. “While working alongside each other, the young painters began to develop their own ideas about what art should be—their own subculture,” Farrell writes. “As each member of the group experimented with new techniques for solving the problems of painting landscapes, he shared them with his friends.”
The members begin to pool their resources. In addition to money, the group solidarity provides essential emotional support. By the end of the second phase, the commitment to each other has increased.
In the third phase, the group formalizes and becomes a source of identity for its members. An articulate member emerges as spokesman for the group’s values; another serves to solve routine problems; another integrates new members and reduces group tension as the peacemaker.
Two additional roles are especially important for demarcating boundaries. A scapegoat embodies traits that the rest of the group denies, and the “sell out” waters down group principles to produce more marketable work. In symbolizing what the group is not, these deviants clarify the group’s central values and communal identity.
The members meet regularly, crystallizing the group’s culture and acting as an extended family and therapy group.
The fourth phase consists collective action. The Impressionists staged their own exhibit. Other groups publish a newsletter or start a school. Entrepreneurs might organize a meetup, for example—or even launch a new startup.
In the final phase, the group disintegrates as individual members pursue their own identities.
Several factors converge at this point. Group interaction frequently strains the members, producing taxing interpersonal conflict. Those who experience differential success or recognition are tempted to “go solo,” and they cultivate autonomous values that the rest of the group doesn’t share. More practically, as they age, marriage and family compete for their time and energy.
- Page 1 / 2