Fuck Public Art

tally-ho

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 11, 2002
Messages
551
Firstly an apology if anyone reading this is involved in public art.
But I have a major gripe with it.
It seems kind of fashionable these days to put public art in all sorts of public construction and situations these days and due to this it all reads very token and well there is some really bad shit out there.
I know the whole idea is to keep grants going and a big back slap to the developers for being culturally aware but most of it is insulting and basically visual pollution. I realise some will regard this as aesthetic judgement and each to their own but really most of it reads as an unconsidered piss take , money grab tax right off.
Ive considered in a stoner moment of taging bad public art with 'FUCK PUBLIC ART'
 
so you think its bad to surround ourselves with art? then what is the purpose of it, if not to be seen?
 
No I certainly do not think it is bad to surround ourselves with art, why would I be reading this site if that was the case ?
Spose im just groaning about the system and institution of it and how much of it is a rip off.
Dont you think a tag of 'fuck public art' is an artistic act in itself? as well as providing a critique ?
 
im not sure what you are groaning about
galleries? corporate design?
what do you consider public art
and dont you see that your statement may also be construed as public art in and of itself?
 
Yep I do see that my statement may be constreud as public art, thats the point.
Im not talking about galleries or the foyers of lofty coporate towers
'What do i consider public art ?'........well yknow those spaces left behind after a building, railway,bus station etc has been erected and what is left is a windtunnel or badly designed services path that is pretty much de humanising so to make things right the powers that be make some piss weak gesture in filling it up with a commissioned piece of work that is like I say ill considered and some what token just for the sake of being culturally aware.
Like i say this leads to a discussion over aesthetics, but sometimes it seems to do the art industry more harm than good.
Most forms of construction that take up public space and vision have to go through a tightley controlled form of procedures and approval, public and council (eg the replacement of the WTC site) but much public art seems to have an easy ride through and some kind of carte blanche due to artistic sensitivity.....well so be it and thats fine, but one should not get nancy about it when some one decides to play their own artistic merriment with it...since the majority of the time it is publicly funded.
Ive just come back from a couple of cities that pride themselves on public art and to be honest most of it was unbelievably terrible and trite..this it whats bought on my gripe .
 
Originally posted by tally-ho:
Ive considered in a stoner moment of taging bad public art with 'FUCK PUBLIC ART'
one person's bad public art is another person's amazing public art. isn't this the whole point of art?
alasdair
 
in all reality.. the beavis and butthead view of "this sucks, this is cool" cannot be universally applied to art... to be cliched..
beauty is in the eye of the beholder..
 
806tn.jpg

;) yay public art!
 
I can see Im a lone shag on a rock here.
Spose im off the school of quality not quantity, kinda of like education rather than the attitude of it doesnt matter whether its good or bad education as long as the poor fuckers get a poor attempt at a piss week education so they can work a crap job and fill out their tax form.
Maybe Im an art snob..maybe im discerning.
Maybe the public art game is different over here...Maybe im just bored with the fact that everyone who holds a pencil these days thinks that they are a creative genius and feels the need to inflict it on us.
Maybe they are better at filling out grant applications better than they are in producing the end product..maybe daddy is on the grant board.
I have a pretty full and open mind to art in all it forms but I know shit and a scam when i see it.
Maybe my coment...if read correctly was a jibe at the art mafia and its perks to keep its own existance at the expense of the public purse.
Why does art have this sanction over itself that very few other fields do...........it doesnt have to answer to anyone except that its art and its ok.........its kind of easy to do when much of the time it does nothing but reflect a moment in the artists mind and that of its patron?
I have been moved to tears of joy by art, thought about it, dissected it, theorised about it done uni courses in it and bought pieces blah blah blah......but that doesnt mean I fully agree with the shinnanigans of it and its good to question its modus operandi rather than say oh wow we get lots of art in public spaces thats great they really care, we are such a modern society by surrounding ourselves with objects........whether crap or not....quite frankly i get pride in one job well done than ten, half thought out pieces of shit.
Ps I dont have the means to give a visual example of works that im talking about.....and maybe that wouldnt suffice anyway. A one point perspective of a piece of art doesnt truly explain its 3d context
 
Noodle, that piece of Public art she displayed is from philly. Relax.
But anyway, Tally-ho I think we should spend a whole lot more on art then we do in this country. Did you know the CITY of Berlin Germany spends more on the arts then the entire United States???
[ 02 February 2003: Message edited by: Gamecat ]
 
Yes well I dont know how things work in the US and I do appluaud govts, councils that spend money on arts and culture etc....but with that does come a system that does need a bit of checking up on. Like all things i guess.
That was the original point of my post.
 
my 2 cents.
i think artists (me included) need as much fiscal support as we can get.
if someone came to me and aked me to create an installation for a street corner in the ghetto, or at the steps of the nations capital, i'd fucking do it.
once i create my art, that's it. it's out of my hands. it's up to everyone else, (you included) what to do with it after that.
spray paint it, burn it to the ground. i think your expression via grafitti validates mine.
seemore
 
But thats one reason I love Philly. It's big on the public art scene. I mean check out the building murals in Philly one day for a treat.
 
Why do artist need more fiscal help than others?
Ive created a few public installations ( individual and collaborative) both as a voluntary effort for a public radio station dance party. I didnt put up my hand for money nor recognition.
But I agree once it out of your hands its open slather :)
ive heard that Philladelphia is a bit more out there than most..must be the Quaker origins.
 
hey kids simmers... i grew up in pa and went to college right outside philadelphia. and yes, i too skated in front of that building.
and i love the idea of the art in that little area around city hall... love sign, love park... the clothespin.. the sorry pieces... ect
on my college campus we had a not as nice useless and "ehhh" piece of sculpture in a part of campus
it annoyed me in the way that i would think - i could have done/could do better
not all art is your style
not all art is pretty
what does this art do?
brings art into the public eye
and no matter what that art is, and no matter how good or bad... it is still there for people to see... people that might not normally be exposed on such an often basis
the only bad publicity is no publicity, maybe?
 
i'm not saying that we artists need any more income than anyone else, but it seems the fellows that have decided to live as artists, live quite a bit more frugally than the people that decided to work in sales, service or promotional jobs.
we're looking to make a living, not a killing (haha that's funny and witty. see, i am an artist)
i'm just saying, the opportunities to make a living as an artist are pretty much reserved to teaching or grants. that can be a bit thin.
how often are the members of bluelight going to commision me for a $5,000 mural or offer me $10,000 to put toward my next cd. these anonymous benfactors, these debauchers of the art world, are keeping me fed and warm this cold winter
seemore
[ 03 February 2003: Message edited by: SelectionIll ]
 
If art is not about taste and opinion then beside tecnique(which leads itself into the world of craft) then what is it about?
'it gives people the opurtunity to be exposed to stuff they normally wouldnt be'
This is the kind of patronising crap that really gets up my goat..Oh those poor ignorant fuckers, thay need some middleclass education and values to come in and show them what art really is. Do you think they really live in houses with no pictures on their walls, no decoration in their lives.
This is arts holier than now attitude that is its own worst enemy.
If one feels so strongly about the lack of culture in these communities then why not give them free art lessons, materials and space to display it.
All cultural insitutions should be free of entry (galleries) as is the case happening here in Sydney. Visitations are up and to the contrare Australia has a larger number of people visiting and participating in such, more than attending sporting events. And no they are not just the educated.
The public art system is a beauracratic, self imposed, self indulgent system with little or no watch dog, that is all about keeping itself ( those in control of it) alive.
Of course you would jump at the oppurtunity to get paid and do an installation in a prominent place but after that not care what happened to it..grab the money and run?
I do not condem public art, but it should be questioned like the rest of the public purse that supports it.
 
artists need to eat too. why should we provide our services for free when everyone else gets paid for their contributions to society
seemore
and that comment on taking the money and running, that's just silly. how can i try to force people to accept or reject my work.
or perhaps you're right. i do tyake the money and run. to the grocery store, the liquor store and my landlord.
seemore
[ 03 February 2003: Message edited by: SelectionIll ]
 
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