Lesson 3

Course of Site Specific Public Art
Lesson #3

FOUNDATION: NEW GENRE PUBLIC ART
case histories from Suzanne Lacy essay

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Politecnico di Milano (Campus di Piacenza) School of Architecture and Society

Lesson #3

PRESENTATION OF THE COURSE

Instructions to follow the course:

-blog art-as-playground.blogspot.com

Facebook page: Course of site specific public
art Politecnico di Milano- Campus Piacenza

#publicartpiacenza

I send you a reading in pdf format.
This is my adress: ornellacostanzopolipc@gmail.com
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Lesson #3

A DEFINITION OF NEW GENRE PUBLIC ART

We might describe this as “new genre public art” to distinguish
it in both form and intention from what has been called “public
art”- a term used for the past twenty-five years to describe
sculpture adn installations sited in public spaces.

Unlike much of what has heretofore been called public
art, new genre public art-visual art that uses both traditional
and nontraditional media to communicate and interact with a
broad and diversified audience about issues directly relevant
to their lives- is based on engagement.

Lacy; Mapping the terrain, new genre public art, p. 19

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Lesson #3


Proponents of new genre public art favor temporary rather
than permanent projects that engage their
audience, particularly groups considered marginalized, as
active participants in the conceptualization and production of
process-oriented, politically conscious community events or
programs.

Kwon, One place after another: site specific art and location
identity, p.6

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Lesson #3


-Dealing with most profound issues of our time: toxic waste, race
relations, homelessness, cultural identity etc.

- Public strategies and audience engagement important part of an
aesthetic language

-Use of both traditional and unconventional media to interact with
the public

- New genre artists: their work is considered under other labels such
as political, performance or media art and both art and society
agendas were unexplored by art criticism.

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Lesson #3


-Alternative history of public art: development of various vanguard
groups such as feminist, ethnic, marxist and media artist. Activism in
general.

- They have in common: leftist politics, social activism, redefined
audiences, relevance for communities and collaborative
methodology.

-Art in a public interest: challenge to the galleries and museum. P.25
Allan Kaprow statement.

- The personal is political: slogan of feminist art movement, meaning
that personal revelation, through art, could be political tool. P. 27

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Lesson #3

AROUND A DEFINITION OF NEW GENRE PUBLIC ART

The current discourse on public art is due to marginalized artists of
last decades: a call to action p.31.

Artist responsibility: desire for a more connected role of artists. The
distance between art and society is one of the topic. P. 33

Collaborative practice: the relationship is the artwork.

To overcome the dualism of self: between the self and the others
and private and public part of self. p. 36

Engage multiple audience: viewer, create a participant, or find a
collaborator.

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Lesson #3


The big challenge is:
how to develop a public art that acknowledges, supports and
enriches the differences while at the same time discovering how the
differences contribute to an idea of public life, a kind of common
ground. P. 39

New roles for artists: use of artwork in the social context and the roles
of the artist as an actor in the public sector.

Pedagogical nature of art : artist as educator connected to political
intentions. P. 39

When “public” is in the art making equation, the staging area is
potentially everywhere.

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Lesson #3


The role of curators:
they must be involved in the creative process. A collaborator has a
facilitator.

Two working models:
1) you can get a large amount of input from community before the
actual making and then you take control of the aesthetic.
2) another model is fully collaborative in which you can give voice
to the community and they make the image.

Art and meanings: process as metaphor.

Challenge is the nature of art as we know it, art not primarily as a
product but as a process of value finding, a set of philosophies, an
ethical action and an aspect of a larger socio-cultural agenda.

9

Lesson #3


The role of curators:
they must be involved in the creative process. A collaborator has a
facilitator.

Two working models:
1) you can get a large amount of inputs from community before the
actual making and then you take control of the aesthetic.
2) another model is fully collaborative in which you can give voice
to the community and they make the image.

Art and meanings: process as metaphor.

Challenge is the nature of art as we know it, art not primarily as a
product but as a process of value finding, a set of philosophies, an
ethical action and an aspect of a larger socio-cultural agenda.

10

Lesson #3


The audience:

The traditional audience of art has changed in several ways:
- by being placed at the center of the art making with their
concerns and issues adopted as artistic subject matter
- by reacting to the work: their reaction determining the success of
the work
-by taking on a diversified and more active role.

The audience has not expanded but has evolved.
Indeed it is a change in the composition of the audience, and their
position at the creative center, that makes the public art so new.

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Lesson #3

Judy Chicago-THE WOMANHOUSE- CALIFORNIA- 1972

-
Occupied and
restored house in
urban Hollywood.

Educational
activities
connected to
CalArts.

Exhibits that
shared their
experience as
women.

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Lesson #3

Group Material-NEW YORK ARTIST BASED GROUP IN 1979. The People’s Choice, Lower East side.

-
"Dear friends and neighbours of 13th Street.
Group Material is having an exhibition and you're
invited. Group Material is the gallery that opened
this October at 244 East 13th. We are a group of
young people who have been organizing different
kinds of events in our storefront. We've had
parties, art shows, movies and art classes for the
kids who are always rushing in and out.
The Peoples' Choice is the title of our next
exhibition. We would like to show things that might
not usually find their way into an art gallery. The
things that you personally find beautiful, the
objects that you keep for your own pleasure, the
objects that have meaning for you your family and
your friends. What could these be? They can be
photographs, or your favorite posters. If you collect
things, these objects would be good for this
exhibition."

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Lesson #3

Group Material-DA ZI BAO- New York 1982

-
Outdoor sit-e
specific work on
the model of
Democracy Wall in
China.

People’s voice on
Unione Square.

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Judith Baca-THE GREAT WALL OF LOS ANGELES- L.A. 1976-1984 (1 km ) p. 202

-

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Suzanne Lacy-THE CRYSTAL QUILT- MINNEAPOLIS, 1987

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Vito Acconci-HOUSE OF CARS #1 AND #2 – 1983-1988 P. 193

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Vito Acconci-MOBILE LINEAR CITY – 1991

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Joseph Beyus-I LIKE AMERICA AND AMERICA LIKES ME – 1974

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Joseph Beyus-SWEEPING UP– 1972

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Joseph Beyus-7000 OAKS– KASSEL 1982

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Joseph Beyus-7000 OAKS– KASSEL 1982

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Lesson 3

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