Whether it’s a legally commissioned statue in a town square or a slap dash stencil spray-painted guerrilla-style on a building, public art occupies an interesting space between the realms of gallery and museum. It is often designed for a particular setting and must be made to rigorous standards in order to survive the rigours of outdoor life, in a fairly unprotected environment. Public art is also intended to reach audiences outside of the narrow, often privileged sphere of the gallery or museum.
While some works of public art do not require interaction, others invite a response that may be playful, provocative or informative. These are referred to as interactive public art. One example is the Ohio State University sculpture Modern Head, by Roy Lichtenstein, a celebrated Pop artist who graduated from the University in 1960. The work was originally installed on the campus of the University, but later moved to a city centre location where it now draws thousands of visitors. This is a great example of the type of public interaction that many public artists aim for.
Public art has been used for a variety of purposes, including aesthetically beautifying spaces, generating historical pride, encouraging connection through accessible culture, and as a tool for political or social propaganda. It can also function as a way to memorialize important people and events, or as an alternative to a conventional war monument.
In recent times, the emergence of public art has been linked to an emphasis on creating joy and promoting wellbeing. A growing number of cities around the world are investing in projects that seek to create public spaces that encourage engagement, conversation and even play. This is a shift away from the more serious and sometimes political nature of some forms of public art.
Many of the same principles apply to contemporary art as they do to traditional art. However, whereas artworks created in a studio or exhibited in a museum can be removed at any time, works of public art are expected to last 20-50 years and must follow a complex process for deaccession if they are ever removed from their original setting.
While it is sometimes difficult to see how a work of public art can achieve its intentions in a different setting, this is precisely the challenge that many contemporary artists face. They can try to recreate the same effects and meanings in a new context, or they can use their imagination and creativity to make something completely new.
Many of these innovations in the form of public art have sprung from movements like street art, artist-initiated public interventions and urban renewal based commissions that are outside of commercial or partisan limitations. This is a sign that the field of public art continues to evolve and to expand its role in society. This evolution can only be beneficial for the world at large, as it opens up a new, democratic canvas of expression. The ideas that underlie this new era of public art are both exciting and profoundly relevant to the lives we lead today.