Defining Excellence, Quality, and Style

Abstract

This chapter analyzes several definitions and understandings of expertise, as well as its relational and social aspects. It investigates the role of artists and arts managers as “contributory experts.” Grantmaking institutions invited consultants and panelists to help them make cultural policy. One Rockefeller vice president referred to his music advisory committee as his “wise men” who guided the foundation in “the most creative and promising direction.” These experts, in turn, determined and defined artistic excellence and quality, deciding the fate of hundreds of millions of dollars in music. They chose which kinds of music and which composers and performers received foundation and government money. Experts evaluated criteria they believed to be objective, such as budgets and project feasibility, while also expressing their own subjective tastes and preferences. Peer and expert review provided a system of legitimization and authority while concentrating power in a remarkably small and overlapping network of artists.