Unit 10 Public Art
Public art obviously is the art that displays in public place, as Doss wrote in her article “Public Art Controversy: Cultural Expression and Civic Debate”, “And public art – Precisely because it’s public and because it’s art” (page 1). I have seen many public art in many places such as bus station, parks, knight library and some squares. Some of art works are appreciable, but some of them does not make any sense for me. I was viewing public art as decorations of cities, but it actually means a lot more than that. Also, I was thinking public art only means paintings and sculptures. However, there actually have many forms of public art, “Public art includes sculptures, murals, memorials, monuments, civic gateways, pocket parks, playgrounds, and outdoor performance” (page 2). After reading this week’s course material, I noticed two new things about public art. One is that public art shows the civic improvement in a specific place, another thing is that public art express the spirit of the certain place.
From the Runquist murals, I found it expresses the civic improvement through express the human art and science development in different times. Doss in the reading also mentioned that “public art was a form of civic improvement and could help generate a shared sense of civic and national identity” (page 4). I think this statement means that public art represent the spirit and human value of the certain place. It creates a common sense of how the place feel like, and what the value is. From the “Development of the Art” and the “Development of the Science”, we can see many details that express the civic improvement. Also, the various period of human society shows the relationship between the development of art, the development of science, and the human values.
In addition, Doss in the reading also suggested that “The dynamics surrounding public art reveal an ongoing American commitment to meaningful conversations, which are the cornerstones of an active democratic culture” (page 1). This statement emphasizes the significant of public art because it represent the culture cornerstone of the specific place.
However, public art is not always appreciable. Different people have different interpretation of art, so public art as a public thing always involves in controversy. Doss stated that “public art is, by definition, the product of public feedback. It centers on dialogue – on the expressed interests and issues of particular groups – and that dialogue can be contentious” (page 6). After reading Doss’s definition about public art, I feel that public art actually is a symbol or an expression of the authority’s idea. Authority shows their idea or position to ordinary people through public art, and waiting for people’s feedback. Some of them might have different opinion about the same thing with the authority, so public art is a good substitution to criticize on instead of criticize the authority directly.
Except involves in political and social problems, public art also can be a pure aesthetic thing in some people’s eyes. No one wanted an ugly sculpture to represent beautiful city. Therefore, public art also is an expression of the culture, social aesthetic and taste. As Doss explained, “Today’s public art diversity speaks to American diversity – and to the increasing number of American’s who want to see their cultural interests represented in the public sphere” (page 2). Therefore, public art not only represent the spirit of the certain place, but also represent people’s cultural interests and aesthetics.
In conclusion, public art representing the civic improvement, and directing the community identity, as Doss stated, “public art can play a central role in shaping and directing community identity” (page 10). Therefore, it is a very important thing that we should be aware of.
Works Cited