Assignment #3: Public Art

Public Art Lecture

What is public art? At one point in time, the answer was simple; public art was an outdoor commemorative sculpture of a great leader, or a triumphal arch representing victory and promoting nationalism. The history of art encompasses far more examples of public art than private art; ranging from the frescoes and sculptures in churches to statues created for public squares. Public art practices date back as far as cave paintings and idol carving (Public Interventions Video).

In a general sense, contemporary public art is simply art produced for, and owned by the public, which is related to government initiatives, many of which were instituted in the late 1960’s. These include the percent-for-art programs and The National Endowment for the Art’s Art in Public Places program. The percent-for-art programs currently operate in about half of the United States and many cities and countries around the world including Canada. The program sets aside for art a certain percentage (usually 1%) of the construction budget of public buildings. The Art in Public Places program in the U.S. assists communities with funding and expertise in commissioning and acquiring art for public sites. At the onset of these initiatives, ideas about what art is, and what it could be began to shift and ideological changes gained momentum through such official encouragement.

“Many artists were leaving their studios to create earthworks and other environmental forms that demanded an architectural rather than a studio scale. The challenges of realizing such complex projects provided artists with not merely the necessary skills but also the willingness to collaborate and hence abandon the complete control that comes from working in a studio”- not to mention the notion of the solitary, tormented, genius artist as skilled craftsperson creating everything by hand (Atkins 1990, 139).

There are currently two major conceptions of public space that influence the type of public art that is produced. The first is the beautifying approach to public art that has resulted in a plethora of huge monolithic public sculptures. The idea is that the art will ‘clean up’ or beautify the space. The second is the idea that a city is a living organism made up of many different people, concerns and voices. It views citizenship as a participatory process. This approach has resulted in a number of collaborative, activist projects initiated by artists (Public Interventions Video). Many of these projects take the community’s voice into consideration. (In opposition to Tilted Arc, Richard Serra, 1981, Federal Plaza, NY).

With artists continuing to move out of the gallery and studio, continuing to address the communities in which they live and/or work, public art is constantly evolving. Today public art can be almost anything. It consists of experiments in public space - many times allowing people other than the artist to engage in the creative process (Public Interventions Video). This is what Suzanne Lacy has coined “New Genre Public Art”.

“Is it art? Is it social work? Is it politics? Public art today threatens to transcend all such distinctions” (Public Interventions Video).

Assignment

Working individually or collaboratively, develop a new genre public art project. Form, content and materials are to be determined by you. If the work exists off campus and involves audience interaction, all class members must be invited to participate. Documentation of the project is required at the critique. You may choose to document the project through digital images, video and text.

Questions:

• What community or communities do you feel you belong to?
• How well do you know your community?
• How do you define community?
• Is there something you feel strongly about changing or seeing changed in your community or environment?
• Is there something you feel strongly about celebrating in your community or environment?
  
• Is there a group of people you are interested in working with?
• What are some of the distinct qualities of your community?
• What makes up a community?
• Do you have a target audience? If so, where is the most effective location for your project? What is the most effective time period?
• What ideas are you interested in exploring?
• What questions do you want to pose?
• How will the public interact with your piece? Will they contribute actively or passively?
• How much control are you willing to forfeit to others?
• What is the nature of your exchange?
• What would be the most effective mode of documentation?
  
  

Public Art Videos

1. Silicon Valley of the Dolls, by Susan Schuppli, 11min.
   
   This is a performative public art project that humorously explores relationships between gender, technology and corporate culture. The Ottawa Art Gallery presented the project in 1999 under a larger exhibition called “In All the Wrong Places”, which sought to move art out of the gallery and into the streets.
   
   
2. The New Ecomony, by Praxis, 5min
   
   Praxis is the name that Delia Bajo and Brainard Carey work under as an art collaborative. They are 2 artists who have opened their NY storefront studio to the public every Saturday since June of 1999.
   
   In The New Economy, Praxis offers the public several free services: you can have your feet washed, receive a hug, or a band-aid with a kiss. They even hand out gifts of $1 bills while supplies last.
   
   
3. John Marriott: Art that Says Hello, 1997, 13min, Courtesy Moments: After You 1998, 3:42min, Incidental Park Zones and You, 2001, 6min
   
   Combining satire, sincerity and humour, Marriott takes on a ‘courtesy worker’ persona, engaging strangers in public places. He is interested in expanding ideas of community and life in the city. He is also interested in expanding his audiences beyond gallery goers.