Public Art
The Objectives:
- Learn about the First Amendment to the Constitution and US obscenity law
- Examine historical and current incidents of Censorship in the US and their relationship to public funding for the Arts
- Learn about the National Endowment for the Arts
- Explore the relationship of cultural values to free speech and tolerance
Artifact (original post link):
While seeing the two murals in the Knight library, I realized that these two murals can be considered as public art. In this week’s reading, Erika Doss, the author, starts the article by quoting the definition of public art as Jack Becker details in his 2004 Americans for the Arts Monograph on the subject: “Public art is artwork in the public realm, regardless of whether it is situated on public or private property, or whether it is acquired through public or private funding. Public art can be a sculpture, mural, manhole cover, paving pattern, lighting, seating, building façade, kiosk, gate, fountain, play equipment, engraving, carving, fresco, mobile, collage, mosaic, bas-relief, tapestry, photograph, drawing, or earthwork.” (Page 2) The two murals, Development of the Arts and Development of the Science, fall into the definition of public art. There are, however, some issues to be considered such as civic improvement, civic beautification, place-making, and appropriateness, time, place, and manner.
The two murals definitely beautify the Knight Library. They hang in the East and West stairwells that connect the lobby of the Library to the Special Collection and University Archives. When people are entering to the library, they see these murals rather than organized classic bookshelves that people would see in a library. In this week’s reading, Doss says “Its visibly public presence, its frequent dependence on public dollars, and its originating concept as a unifying form of civic beautification can make public art a beacon for controversy.” (Page 5) Two murals were painted as part of Work Progress Administration Art Project, which was part of the New Deal the Federal Art Project and was funded by the federal government.
In the reading, Doss states “Critics and historians such as Ronald Lee Fleming and Renata von Tscharner argue that a “spectre of placelessness” characterizes many of today’s built environments; shopping malls, airports, office parks, and housing developments are so similar that it is hard to distinguish one from the other. This “banal sameness” is thought to keep people from establishing a sense of place or community identity. 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) For the two murals to be located in the library, it definitely generate the sense of civic and community identity for students. The two murals show the chronological history of the art and the science from bottom to top. In a student’s point of view, the display of the two murals in the library could generate the sense of civic and community identity for them. In addition, Doss describes that the definition is a quite a list and she says, “That’s because whether permanent or temporary, figurative or abstract, man-made or mass produced, public art is as diverse as the people who view it.” (Page 2) Not everyone might not think that the two murals would not be considered as public art. The people who view the murals are mostly students, and the library is mostly for students. Although the library would not be considered as public place, the murals could be considered as site-specific works of art. In the reading, Doss states “A widespread interest in genius loci – spirit of place – has helped generate site-specific works of art: public art projects that engage specific factors such as location, audience, and history.” (Page 5)
Doss quotes Douglas McGill’s statement by saying “Douglas McGill describes this new public art as “art plus function, whether the function is to provide a place to sit for lunch, to provide water drainage, to mark an important historical date, or to enhance and direct a viewer’s perceptions”” (Page 6) Doss also says “And contemporary public art that fails to generate some sense of spatial and / or social relevance is often snidely dismissed as “plop” art. But the sort of identity and relevance that public art is supposed to generate- not to mention which American public a public art piece is meant for – is often a source of conflict.” (Page 6) The two murals provide to mark the historical improvement on the art and the science in historical orders. They also generate the sort of identity and relevance by displaying in the Knight Library.
I really enjoyed viewing the two murals in the Knight Library: Development of the art and Development of the science. While reading this week’s reading, I also realized that the two murals definitely fall into the category of public art.
Reflection:
Before this assignment on the two murals located in the Knight Library, I did not even know that the two murals exist. While observing those two for the assignment, I could see the whole process of development in art and science. The two murals, Development of art and Development of science, represents the history of art and science. The two murals are in historical order from bottom to top. The background looks like in the prehistoric ages, and there are four people staring at one person who is making fire with a wooden stick. By starting with the making fire scene, it goes all the way up to the airplane era. In one painting, it includes all the development of science. By placing them in the library, it matches up with the purpose of a library, that is, the two murals are appropriate to be in the library. In addition, the location of the murals fulfills the requirement of being public artwork.
The two murals also fulfill the civic beautification, which is an issue that is considered when it comes to the public art. They hang in the East and West stairwells that connect the lobby of the Library to the Special Collection and University Archives. When students come into the library, they see the two murals with satisfying their enjoyment of eyes. They are not really eye-catching murals, in my opinion, but they made me stay in one spot and look them all through. Before working on this assignment on the two murals, I considered public art as artwork that is displayed in public where anyone can have access to; however, I have learned that there are several requirements that artwork has to meet to be a public art, and public art can be in anywhere if it fulfills the requirement such as spirit of place.
Future Goals:
After learning about the public art, I would pay more attention to the artwork. To be detailed, I would see if the artwork could be considered as public art based on the knowledge that I have learned while doing this assignment. So to speak, I would see if the artwork has a purpose of civic improvement, civic beautification. I would see if the artwork is placed in an appropriate place, time, and manner.
Click here for the YouTube video link for more information on public art.
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