Socio-Material Network Analysis: A Mixed Method Study of Five European Artistic Collectives

TL;DR

This study combines qualitative ethnography and statistical network analysis to explore how social ties influence material engagement within European artistic collectives, revealing complex socio-material dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a mixed method approach using two-mode networks and multilevel exponential random graph models to analyze socio-material relationships.

Findings

Social ties influence material engagement patterns.

Different types of interpersonal relationships condition material interactions.

The approach offers new insights into socio-material dynamics in artistic groups.

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that we can better understand the relationship between social structure and materiality by combining qualitative analysis of practices in shared physical space with statistical analysis. Drawing on the two-mode approach, I treat social and material structures together with the relationship between them as a two-level socio-material network. In a mixed method study, formalized ethnographic data on such networks in five European artistic collectives are subjected to multilevel exponential random graph modelling. It sheds light on how different types of interpersonal ties condition the engagement of individuals with similar materiality over time.