Before talking about public art, I just ask myself if I still have an idea about art. Luckly, I still remember that I define art in no limits and no boundaries. What I mean by that is everyone has different understanding of each artwork, include murals. It does not matter what kind of artwork it is. So, moving to public art, is that any difference between them? Public art is art, according to the article, the author Ericka Doss mention that “public art is artwork in the public realm, regardless of whether it is situated on public or private property, or whether it is acquire through public or private funding. Public art can be a sculture, mural, manhole cover, paving pattern, lighting, seating, building facade, kiosk, gate, fountain, play equipment, engraving, carving, fresco, mobile, collage, mosaic, bas-relief, tapestry, photograph, drawing, or earthwork” (Page 2). It is such a long definition, but I think it is because no matter when the artwork have been created, no matter who have created them, no matter how abstract or non-abstract they were, they all had value in the history and future.

 

I did not see many murals which created in the past by some famous artists, but I did see some local murals. There was a mural in a side of a street. The main color was pink and it can definitely catch people’s attention to see what exactly they are. There were some patterns in that mural, and I remember there were also some little animals there. Personally, it was cute and it can attract people to get into the restaurant. However, is it controversy? The answer should be “YES”, because everyone is different, they have personal standards to consider each artwork. According to this experience, I think it murals as a public art should consider the public aesthetic standards and this mural get this point.

 

Then, back to the murals we appreciate this week, I am interested the second mural (Development of the Arts) which also made by Arthur and Albert Runquist in 1937. By reading through it, I feel like based on the main structure (the tree), the art developed by each branches. People have more enriched social life about music and music enjoyment as time went by. Doss said “Traditional forms of American public art include figurative sculptures displayed in public spaces—outdoors or in public buildings (often, these are erected as monuments or memorials to important national figures and moments” (Page 2). This mural may not be the national figures and moments, but it do have history value about Oregon history. Taking a Chinese mural in Dunhuang as an example, the murals in Dunhuang were about religion Buddhism. The Buddhism had an important and significant influence of the whole Chinese history. Several years ago, when people discovered those magnificent murals in accident, the whole China was surprised by our ancients who can make those unbelievable murals to spread the culture of Buddhism. So the murals in Dunhuang were “eracted as monuments or memorials to important national figures and moments” (Page 2), they just like a pen that wrote down what had happened in the history in China.

 

“Contemporary conflicts over public art especially relate to contemporary concerns about cultural control and questions about artistic, social, and economic authority” (Page 6). In several decades ago, China published a policy to control the birth. At that time, the government painted a host of murals which used to announce and spread this policy in parks and even in walls. It was a politic issues which concerned by a large number of people in China at that time. Additionally, those murals did influence the general people, and the government spared no efforts to promote this policy.

 

As far as I am concerned, public art do have controversy, and I believe it is not avoidable. But the reason why it is controversial is that people pay attention to it, people want to have suggestions to improve it, and people want to see if they can better the society. Therefore, I think public should be controversial, then it can influence people’s life, and then it can bring a lot of concerns into the society.

 

Work Cited

Doss, E. (2006, October). Public art controversy: Cultural expression and civic debate. Retrieved from http://www.americansforthearts.org/pdf/networks/pan/doss_controversy.pdf