Transcript Public Art - Warilla High School Intranet

Public Art and Public
Spaces
a Year 12 Case Study
Donatello’s Gattemelata
1445-1450
This work is at the start of
a line of public sculpture
that commemorates the
military hero as a “man on
horseback”.
As a technical point, why
do you think that the
horse has its foot on a
ball?
Nelson’s Column, Trafalgar Square, London.
This commemorates the British admiral Horatio Nelson, who died
at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Auguste Rodin
The Burghers of Calais, 1884-89 .
Casts of this sculpture can be found in
London and in Calais, France.
The sculpture shows a scene from
French History.
Maggi Hambling “A
conversation with Oscar
Wilde” 1998
This sculpture was
installed near Trafalgar
Square in London and
has become a popular
fixture in London.
In what ways is it
different to traditional
representations of
important people?
Ron Robertson-Swan - Vault 1980
Ron Robertson-Swann - Vault
1980
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/10/0
2/1033538671587.html
http://www.artwrite.cofa.unsw.edu.au/9918/c
arson.html
Ron Robertson-Swan - Vault 1980
• Vault was installed in Melbourne’s Swanston Street square in 1980. It
was commissioned and designed for that specific site.
• It was unpopular with the public and was removed after 2 years. It
was then sited in the riverside Batman Park.
• The artist had no say on the re-siting of the artwork.
• This decision to override the selection committee's decision horrified
the members of the arts industry. Architecture critic, Norman Day,
asked the question 'Do we allow untrained, ill-informed, mediocre
judgments to guide our artistic and architectural taste, or are we a
more refined community?' (Day 1980)
• It is now sited outside the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
at Southbank – now considered a prime site for the display of
sculpture.
Why do we need public art? What is its role?
Some comments by Ron Robertson-Swann
• "I think if it's good, it enriches," says Robertson-Swann.
• "You need to step outside of your own prejudices and
tastes and comfort zones and everything else, in order to
'get' it. And I think that that is one of the most civilizing of
all processes.”
• "It's there and free for everyone to see, and do if, if they
want. If they'd prefer to go to the footy, absolutely fine,
good on 'em."
Tilted Arc - Richard Serra, 1981,
sculpture, steel,
New York City (destroyed).
Tilted Arc - Richard Serra, 1981, sculpture, steel,
New York City (destroyed).
Richard Serra Tilted Arc, 1981
• In 1981, artist Richard Serra installs his sculpture Tilted Arc, the
U.S. General Services Administration in Federal Plaza in New
York City.
• The sculpture generates controversy as soon as it is erected, and
Judge Edward Re begins a letter-writing campaign to have the
$175,000 work removed. Estimates for the cost of dismantling the
work are $35,000, with an additional $50,000 estimated to erect
it in another location.
• Richard Serra testifies that the sculpture is site-specific, and that
to remove it from its site is to destroy it. If the sculpture is
relocated, he will remove his name from it.
• Serra commented at the time: "I don't think it is the function of
art to be pleasing. Art is not democratic. It is not for the people."
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Richard Serra Tilted Arc, 1981
The public hearing is held in March 1985. During the hearing, 122
people testify in favour of retaining the sculpture, and 58 testify in
favour of removing it. The art establishment -- artists, museum
curators, and art critics -- testify that Tilted Arc is a great work of
art.
Those against the sculpture, for the most part people who work
at Federal Plaza, say that the sculpture interferes with public use
of the plaza.
They also accuse it of attracting graffiti, rats, and terrorists who
might use it as a blasting wall for bombs.
The jury of five, chaired by William Diamond, vote 4-1 in favour of
removing the sculpture.
Serra's appeal of the ruling fails. On March 15, 1989, during the
night, federal workers cut Tilted Arc into three pieces, remove it
from Federal Plaza, and cart it off to a scrap-metal yard.
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/tiltedarc.html
Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994
http://www.artistsineastlondon.org/frameset.htm
Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994 (the original
site)
Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994 (work in
progress).
Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994 (the
completed work).
Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994 (the vacated
site).
Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994
• On October 25th 1993, after 2 years of planning and preparation,
Rachel Whiteread completed her in-situ 'cast' of the interior space
of a Victorian terraced house - 193 Grove Road in Bow, E3.
• The timetable was very tight.After various delays Whiteread and
her team prepared for casting from August 2nd, new foundations
were laid on August 30th and the process of gunnite spraying began
on September 5th. From October 12th the walls began to be
removed and the project was completed, successfully, on October
25th.
• On November 23rd a number of key events coincided which were
to cause an explosion of media interest. At 2pm, the K Foundation
awarded Whiteread their prize of £40,000 for the 'worst' artist in
Britain.
At 7.30pm Bow Neighbourhood demanded the
immediate demolition of House, and at 9.30pm Whiteread was
awarded the 1993 Turner Prize, broadcast live from the Tate Gallery
on Channel 4 Television.
Rachel Whiteread, “House", London 1993 –1994
• The confrontation between the local authority and
Whiteread became very public and adversarial. On the
26th, an early day motion was tabled in the House of
Commons by Michael Gordon MP and Hugh Bayley MP
congratulating Whiteread on winning the Turner Prize and
calling upon Tower Hamlets to allow a time extension so
that more people could see the work and to consult with
local people as to whether it should be destroyed.
• A petition of 3,500 signatures collected on site in 12
hours supporting an extension was countered by 800
signatures urging its destruction.
• On December 10th Bow Neighbourhood agreed in
principle to an extension to January 12th 1994 and, 3 days
before Christmas, this was finally approved by Cllr.
Flounders. On January 11th House was demolished.
Edge of the Trees
by Fiona Foley and Janet
Lawrence
Sydney 1994
Edge of the Trees by Fiona Foley and Janet Lawrence
Edge of the Trees by Fiona Foley and Janet Lawrence
• 29 sandstone, wood and steel pillars, oxide, hair, shells, bones, ash,
seeds, spinifex resin and honey.Museum of Sydney (forecourt)
• From the edge of the trees the Cadigal people watched as the
strangers of the First Fleet struggled ashore in 1788. We can
only imagine what their thoughts would have been. This
sculptural installation by artists Janet Laurence and Fiona Foley
symbolises that first encounter.
•
http://www.artwrite.cofa.unsw.edu.au/0020/2020_pages/Salvestro_Janet_Laurence.html
• http://www.anat.org.au/nisnma/blackout/artists/foley.htm
• http://www.hht.nsw.gov.au/collection/new_collection_overview/museum_of_sydney
Anthony Gormley Angel of the North 1995-98
This 20 metre figure stands on a hilltop above the road and rail approaches to Gateshead in
Northern England. It has been accepted as a popular icon by the local community
Alison Lapper Pregnant by Marc Quinn 1994
Installed in Trafalgar Square, London 2005.
The sculpture is a portrait of Alison
Lapper when she was 8½ months
pregnant. It is to be carved out of
one block of white marble and
would stand 4.7 metres high.
Ms Lapper is an artist herself, who was
born in 1965 with no arms and very
short legs, the result of a congenital
disorder called phocomelia. She
took a first class honours degree
from the University of Brighton in
1994. Her degree show installation
Marc Quinn with the maquette included photographs of herself as a
child wearing the artificial limbs
for
which she now shuns. She has since
Alison Lapper Pregnant
exhibited in group shows and solo
exhibitions.
OPINIONS
The public may be shocked, embarrassed or titillated by the
monumental statue which will soon appear on the empty plinth
in Trafalgar Square. The model is not: Alison Lapper says her
portrait, by the artist Marc Quinn, is "naked, pregnant and
proud".
“In the past, heroes such as Nelson conquered the outside world.
Now it seems to me they conquer their own circumstances and
the prejudices of others, and I believe that Alison's portrait will
symbolise this.” – Marc Quinn
"I'm extremely proud that one of the most popular tourist attractions in London will
display a very powerful sculpture of a disabled woman. Congratulations to Marc for
realising that disabled bodies have a power and beauty rarely recognised in an age where
youth and 'perfection' are idolised." Bert Massie, the chairman of The Disability Rights
Commission
"At first glance it would seem that there are few if any public sculptures of people with
disabilities. However a closer look reveals that Trafalgar Square is one of the few public
spaces where one exists. Nelson, on top of his column, has lost an arm ... Nelson's Column
is the epitome of a phallic male monument and I felt that the square needed some
femininity.” Marc Quinn
“Quinn made a classically surreal work early in his
career - his 1991 cast of his own head in frozen
blood - but where the crassness of that comes off,
most of his work is just too singular to add up to
more than a glib talking point. Can you tell me in a
sentence what Alison Lapper Pregnant is about?
Now do the same for Michelangelo's Slaves.
Quinn's Trafalgar Square work uses "traditional"
materials and techniques. This is superficially clever.
By representing a disabled person in marble he
points out the hierarchies at work in traditional
sculpture - all those perfect classical bodies - and
subverts the great tradition, democratises it.”
“………….this is one sculpture that wants to be crapped on, and that is very wise.
I'm not sure the Fourth Plinth needs art on it. Why do we need public art, anyway?
We need art, but that can appear anywhere. It is not better because more of us see
it. The problem with public art is that it implies public control. The public gets what
the public wants.”
Jonathan Jones The Guardian Tuesday March 16, 2004
Some questions about public art
• • What elements determine successful public art?
• Do public artworks play a role in a tourist industry?
• How do you think international visitors see Australia's
public artworks?
• Is art that has been made according to consensus, art or
design?
• What is the difference between art and design?
• Should the architects who design our city buildings be
encouraged to design the sculptures for the city's public
spaces as well?
• What is the difference between an architect and an
artist?
• Is art necessary for public places?
• Is it possible to ensure that the art in public places
appeals to everyone?
Some questions about public art -2
• Should there be legislation that requires public advertising
to meet an aesthetic standard? If so, who should decide
what this is?
Should the art in public spaces represent the very best of
Australian art even if it is disliked or not understood by
the general public?
Why were the opinions of Melbourne's general public and
councillors different from the representatives of the art
industry?
• Who should choose the art for a city's public spaces?
• Should the general public be asked to try something new
that they don't like or understand?
• How do you think people perceive The Vault today?
Some questions about public art -3
• Do you think the Melbourne public would have accepted
the new freeway sculptures 20 years ago? Why do some
people approve of governments spending large amounts of
money on public art and some do not?
• Is public art necessary for public health?
• Is it better to have a lot of smaller works of public art
rather than one great big one?
• What do you think is the purpose of the public art that
is displayed in the central business district of any major
city?
Use these points as the basis for an essay
expressing your opinions on these
issues.
Essay Question
Explore the relative responsibilities of:
• The “Commissioning Body”;
• The Artist;
• Public Authorities;
• The General Public
in commissioning, creating and maintaining
artworks in public places.