When visiting these historic pieces of art by Albert and Arthur Runquist, it was a surreal piece of art. At first glance, the art piece really captures your attention from the different possible interpretations. When understanding the different panels, its incredible how thoughtful the painting was and artists’ perception on Capturing History. With the landmark that Knight Library represents today, more students should acknowledge this artwork to truly appreciate the building they value so much.
In this weeks reading by Erika Doss, she brings to our attention the controversy of public art, which was not apparent to me at all. According to Doss “it’s too hot to handle” (doss 1), the topic of establishing a public art piece that will represent a culture or community may not be as accepted as most would think. Doss continues to mention that even with the Washington Memorial was controversial to been built at first.
As we progress as a nation and a community, we continue to neglect the spirituality and art that represents us for what we stand and defend. ” The dynamics surrounding public art reveal an ongoing American commitment to meaningful conversations, which are the cornerstones of an active democratic culture.” (Doss 2) The authors makes a statement with the quote stating that we, as a democratic nation, need to not be ignorant with the value of art and accept change and representation; such as “…public art is as diverse as the people who view it.”(Doss 6) representing our nation being diverse.
I find it strange that more of this public art reform hasn’t been more apparent in recent culture, more or less there not being a big historic movement or figurehead. Public art used to the backbone of art and the exposure of masterpieces, such as the Statue of David. This statue and many others were major highlights in their generation of art. Another notable example was the Sistine Chapel that painted to show the passion and murals of Catholicism. An example like these are art pieces that we don’t see in our culture today. Such as a building that has more structure to it rather than a tall rectangle. The monograph that Doss writes us about gives us many examples of shifts and hardship of public art on where it was and where it will be, along with the controversies associated with it.