Artifact Eight: Public Art
Objectives:
- Examine public art’s role in capturing history and place-making.
- Explore the relationship of cultural values to civic dialogue, beautification and identity.
Original Post:
Public art
For me, I have been to many places in the world, and I have seen lots of public art during the trip of different countries. I have never thought about the importance of public art before I read this week’s reading. It is important for me to learn about public art, and it makes more sense when I go back to think about the meaning of public art in our society. There are many kinds of different public art such as painting and sculpture. In my opinion, public art is one of the main elements for civic improvement. We have different public art because it can express the spirit of a place in distinct ways.
This week, I went to the Knight Library and viewed the original pieces of the Runquist murals. The Runquist murals is an interesting piece of public art because it stated the evolution of the arts and sciences. It will be benefited for people to view this artwork as it helps the civic improvement. In my opinion, the reason this Runquist murals came out is for people’s need. The public art will represent the civic identity and it is based on what people thought in that area. When looking back to this week’s reading, Doss stated that “public art is, by definition, the product of public feedback” (Page 6). This means that the public art is designed from the public feedback, which will express the public thought. Moreover, the Runquist Murals could be considered as public art because it is related to the spirit of the place. According to the reading, Doss mentioned that “Public art is seen as a solution to the problem of placelessness, especially in its ability to remedy social alienation and generate a sense of civic and community identity” (Page 5). This means that the Runquist murals should contribute to civic improvement and it is the sign for the civic identity of Oregon.
The Runquist murals are also a good example of how public art shows the diversification for people who have different value systems and belief. I talked with my friends about their feelings about the Runquist murals, and there are distinct ideas come from them. They will view the murals depend on their own life experience and their own view of what art is. As an international student, my friends all come from different cultural background, which gives them a distinct point of view of what the Runquist murals are for them. In the course reading, Doss also stated that “public art should be as diverse as the people who view it” (Page 1). This means the different people will have different views toward the same piece of public art, and that is an important fact for the civic diversification.
In conclusion, I think the role of public art shows in various aspects relate to the development of civilization and the diversity of human cultures. The purpose of public art is to help people find out their needs and fulfill their spiritual world. In the course reading, Doss mentioned that “Public needs, public participation, and public responses are all key to the making and meaning of today’s public art” (Page 6). I think public art is a necessary art form for the civic improvement and civic identity. It will express people’s need and what they view art as a part of their life.
Reference:
Doss, E. (2006, October). Public art controversy: Cultural expression and civic debate. Retrieved from http://www.americansforthearts.org/pdf/networks/pan/doss_controversy.pdf
Reflection:
In this artifact, I discussed the purpose of public art and how it helps to civic improvement and civic identity. Public art is a significant part of the place, and it is related to the history of the place. By analyzing the Runquist Murals, I found that public art could represent the culture of the place and it depends on place making. In the course reading “Public Art Controversy”, the author Doss mentioned that “Public art has been charged with generating ‘place-bound identity’ and lending a sense of distinction and authenticity to the nation’s ever more homogenous public spaces” (Page 5). This is how public art relates to place-making.
Another aspect of public art is the contribution of civic improvement and civic identity. Some of the most famous public artworks are considered as the symbol for the place. In the artifact, I mentioned that people will have different feelings for the same piece of public artwork. It is a good way to analyze the civic improvement by discussing the point of view of public art. In the article, Doss stated that “Public art discourse, like all conversations, can lead to a larger examination and questioning of assumptions, ideas, and concepts. Plenty of controversy have, in fact, generated meaningful conversations about public culture” (Page 6). This gives us the idea about the controversy of public art, and this is also the reason how public art helps to improve the civic identity.
Future:
In the future, I will try to view more of the public art, and use the knowledge that I learned from this class to understand the meaning of that piece of artwork. It is important for me to understand the controversy of public art because that is how public art explores the cultural values of the civic improvement.