A couple months ago, the New York Times ran an article by Ken Johnson about how the focus of public sculpture in New York City has changed. In the article, Johnson asserts that, "Outdoor art isn’t what it used to be. Once it honored heroic individuals and upheld values that whole populations could embrace. Today, excepting memorials like the Vietnam veterans wall, outdoor art serves rather to divert, amuse and comfort."
Johnson goes on to compare some of NYC's classical figurative sculptures with the newer, quirkier public pieces that are more popular today, such as Tom Sach's Hello Kitty figure in the Lever House plaza. Johnson says that contemporary outdoor art offers "unobjectionable, mildly decorative or entertaining and relatively empty experiences."
But I think some would argue the opposite. To me, contemporary public sculpture seems to be more provocative than the statues of heroic individuals that Johnson refers to. Rather than serving to "divert, amuse and comfort," I think most contemporary public sculpture seeks to engage viewers to think about the art and form an opinion.
But what do you think? Has public sculpture gotten too "well behaved"? Weigh in by taking our poll and clicking "Comment" below.
Photo: DANCERS by Jonathan Borofsky. Photo courtesy of the City and County of Denver.
Talk to Richard Serra about this and read the volumes written about Tilted Arc. Makes one wonder if the public deserves public art.
Posted by: Geoff Bush | Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 07:24 AM
No I do not think public art is too tame. There is a great cross section of works...just not enough : )
Jon also I have a call to artists that I hope you can add to your blog here.
The intent of the World Jade Symposium is to showcase all the amazing jade artistry from around the world, and to encourage and educate carvers and admirers of this legendary “stone of heaven”. There is a great renaissance occurring in the Jade world, and this event is an extension of all the energy invested by the carvers, miners, jade hunters, patrons and enthusiasts.
Many of the world’s finest jade carvers are participating in the upcoming 2011 Jade Symposium and there will be many postings on tips, techniques and workshop set up. This is symposium is the perfect opportunity for any carver to learn and improve, while at the same time growing your exposure, network and list of friends!
The symposium starts June 1st. (I will be shipping out jade blocks round may 15). Artists must be registered and paid up by May 15th.
Everyone will carve in the comfort of their own studio and at their own pace. Then, by Sept 30th, all the artists will submit there images of their own artwork to the jade symposium website. The gallery of finished works will be set up on the website.
We have also organized an email to over 7,000 art enthusiasts, an invitation for them to come and view these works online. Everyone is encouraged to vote for their favourite jade piece.
The votes will be tallied and I will send out another email to all voters and carvers to let them know the results, and highlight many of the art works.
I am donating my symposium carving to one, lucky voter.
There are options for the artists to sell their finished work after the symposium. There is also an idea of a gallery/show tour first before any sales, to properly showcase and create awareness. So there may be physical locations in the future, but this will be determined by the artists themselves later.
The Jade Symposium is organized by me, Brian Matheson and Karen Stark. Pagodastone creations ltd is the organization. It is basically not for profit, though my company is not yet registered as one.
Please pass this message on to any you think might be interested, thank you.
Kind regards,
Brian Matheson
[email protected]
www.jadesymposium.com
Posted by: [email protected] | Friday, March 11, 2011 at 07:14 PM