For this post I will be looking at the concept of public art. According to Wikipedia, “Public art is art in any media that has been planned and executed with the intention of being staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all.” I think that common examples of public art include murals, monuments, sculptures. I am sure there are various reasons for why public art is created and produced in public spaces. Many of us have seen at least one example of public art somewhere and may have never thought too much about it. I think that some public art is created to express a certain political view. I found this article on Mashable titled “15 public art projects that boldly advocate for social justice,” and their examples highlight public art that has been used as “an innovate medium of awareness” to quote the article’s author Katie Dupere. I think that many examples of public art can become artivism, where the artists are not only bringing awareness to, but also challenging issues in our current society. What makes public art so innovated in our society is that it is that idea that it is public. By being public is a created to be see by all, as there are often times no barriers to see this art. I like to see it has being public art with a statement; art with a perspective. Below I will include some examples that I especially found interesting from the article.
Ai Weiwei
“The artist, hoping to highlight the severity of the ongoing refugee crisis, tied the striking orange vests to pillars of the Konzerthaus Berlin to command the attention of the general public.”
“The installation was debuted in Berlin in February 2016 outside of the concert hall in Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt square.”
“This knotted gun, simply titled Non-Violence, was first created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd after the murder of John Lennon in 1980. Originally placed across the street from Lennon’s home in New York City, the sculpture was moved to the U.N. Headquarters, calling for peace and non-violence. “
“The glass figure, which was on display in Bristol, England, in late December 2015, was created in collaboration between artist Luke Jerram and UK-based youth homelessness charity 1625 Independent People.”
These are so striking and beautiful and I like how the artists use art as a form of activism in a public space. While I have been talking about artivism being created in spaces, it is nice to see how artivism is created and shared in public spaces like a public building or city street. Very interesting to see. Once again, I come across Ai Weiwei, and I think his installation of refugee life jackets is very eye-opening to see.
On the Wikipedia page about public art I also came across Public Art in Public Places, which is a website that has a data archive of places in Southern California and Hawaii that have public art. I think it is a useful source and it is interesting to see how this archive of public art is set up.
Public Art Wikipedia Page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_art
Article on Mashable:
https://mashable.com/2016/09/24/public-art-social-good/#k9lPOOjDuOq5
Artivism in the Digital Age 