Essay
De numeris non est disputandum!
Die Zahl als Rechtfertigungsargument in der bildenden Kunst der Gegenwart
Abstract
The field of contemporary arts is currently going through a serious legitimation crisis. Possible solutions to overcoming this crisis are currently being discussed in the context of debates about the value art can or should have in our society. The proposed solutions encompass a wide range of approaches – from academic ones to appproaches based on the creative economy or social integration – but they all have one thing in common: the use of numerical evaluations as legitimization tools.
In the absence of commonly accepted criteria for the reception and evaluation of contemporary arts, numerical evaluations are not only becoming a substitute for qualitative criteria, they also offer a new foundation for seemingly straightforward but in fact multifaceted legitimatization strategies.
Tempting as it sounds, it would be a mistake to assume that a move back to traditional aesthetics in assessing the value of contemporary arts might still be possible as an answer to this legitimation debate.
A multidimensional axiology that includes numerical and performance-based evaluations alongside usual modes of aesthetic reception might be a necessary step toward a post-aesthetic – that is, a not merely self-referential, autonomous and arts-based – perspective on the role arts have to play in modern society.
Keywords
2017 (1)
Evaluation im Kulturbereich

Related Articles
Yearbook for Culture Management 2012
Research Article
Journal of Arts Management and Cultural Policy 2020 (1)
Essay
Evaluation im kulturpolitischen Wirkungsbereich
Grundprobleme und HerausforderungenJournal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)
Research Article
Yearbook for Culture Management 2012
Research Article
Zumutungen organisierten Arbeitens im Kulturbereich
Yearbook for Culture Management
Essay
Planning Creative Cities: Reflections on a Trend
Journal of Arts Management and Cultural Policy 2020 (1)
Essay
© 2023, Journal of Cultural Management and Cultural Policy
Keywords
- aesthetics
- higher education
- cultural diplomacy
- career, professional role
- audience studies
- Business
- digitalization, digitization
- diversity
- empirical aesthetics
- entrepreneurship
- development, transformation
- ethics
- Evaluation
- festival
- film
- social change
- ideology
- staging
- communication
- Concert
- creativity
- culture
- arts organizations, cultural organizations
- fincancing the arts
- cultural history
- cultural economy
- art education
- cultural policy
- cultural sociology
- audience development, art education
- arts administration, arts management
- cultural industry
- cultural sciences
- art
- arts research
- curating
- artists
- leadership
- management
- marketing
- market
- media
- methods development
- museum
- music
- opera
- orchestra
- organization
- law
- social cohesion
- community arts
- state
- urbanism
- dance
- theater
- theory development
- tourism
- civil society, third sector