Public Art, or as it is properly titled, “publicly funded art”, has become a priority for local councils and governments looking to instill some culture into the lives of their citizens. The idea behind it is simple: create something beautiful which will encourage locals to meet up and appreciate the beauty of their country’s natural environment.

Trouble is, not everyone likes public art. For a start, it’s expensive. A statue of King Edward I in York cost £120,000 in 2009. On the other hand, if you live in the town centre that statue can be right in the middle of your view! And a lot of people don’t like that kind of thing at all – they find it either ugly or kitsch.

I have been musing on this subject for a while now because my town council has decided to get rid of all its public artworks – mainly as they are taking up valuable space which could be used for car parking spaces (a big issue in any town). So we’ve just got rid of two large sculptures on a roundabout near us. I think that was wrong because they were quite nice and I had grown used to them (but perhaps I’m just getting old!) But I can see why some people wouldn’t want

Introduction

Do you like public art? Do you think it’s a good thing? Do you believe it provides cultural value to society? Do you believe that it provides economic benefits to a community, and increased tourism? Are these things important to you?

These are questions that I have been asking myself recently. It’s why I started this blog. I am not setting out to persuade people of the opposite view, if they have one, but I hope to provide a space for these questions to be explored. What do we mean when we say “public art”? Who pays for it? Is it art or vandalism? Is it an eyesore or inspiration?

And as this site grows and expands, perhaps we can all challenge ourselves to ask what the role of public art should be in our society.

It is a country of public art. Public art is everywhere in this town of 10,000 inhabitants, from the brightly colored paintings adorning the walls of buildings and monolithic sculptures to the windmill in front of the train station and the mural by the entrance to the theater.

One can’t help but wonder: why all this art? What does it add to our quality of life? What does it bring to our eyes that we can’t find elsewhere?

The mystery deepens when one discovers that most of these creations were paid for by local taxpayers. The “park” near city hall, for example, was paid for by funds from a special tax levied on everyone who owned property in town. It would be interesting to know how they voted on this tax: did they see it as an attempt at beautifying their beloved city or as an exercise in pure self-indulgence?

Another citizen saw his taxes go toward paying for a statue of two tanned girls dressed as if they were at the beach, their hands on their hips, staring at passersby with blank stares and pouting lips like they were waiting for something. This statue was commissioned by some French artist and was brought here courtesy of a European institution.

In the same park there’s

Travelling back and forth between the city and London, it doesn’t take long to notice how different the two places are. But why should this be? In many ways, they are very similar – they have the same people, speak the same language, have broadly comparable economies and so on. And yet there is a striking difference in the way that people enjoy themselves. In London, you can hardly go anywhere without bumping into someone having fun.

It’s not just the obvious pleasures like shopping, going to restaurants and entertainment that people enjoy. It’s more subtle things as well: people seem more relaxed, more friendly and willing to have a good time than in other places. It may not sound like much but if you’re after a good time, this is a big deal!

It’s no wonder that tourists flock here from all over the world. So what makes London such a great place for having fun? The obvious answer would seem to be that it has lots of great things to do: theatres, shopping centres, parks and so on. And these are clearly important; they ensure that there is always somewhere new to go and something new to try. But another thing London has in spades is public art. Tourists flock here partly because London has

There is a new, permanent art project in New York City’s Central Park: a smooth metal sculpture that looks like a cross between an abstracted bird and a question mark, with a glowing orb at the top. It is very expensive, but no one knows who paid for it, or why.

The sculpture is not in the park itself. It stands near the entrance to the park on Fifth Avenue, facing oncoming traffic. This means that anyone gazing upon it will be looking at it while they walk down the sidewalk at the same time. The artist claims that this juxtaposition will make people think about how they use their time.

Tina Kukielski lives in Brooklyn. She sees something else: “It just seems like an eyesore to me,” she says. “I can’t imagine why anybody would want something so big and ugly in our view.”

Her husband, Sam Gilson, agrees: “You look up and see something out of your field of vision.”

“Maybe if it was smaller,” she says. “But gigantic? I don’t get it.”

I think this is a terrible art project. I get that it is supposed to be fun, and that people may even enjoy the experience of walking through there, but from an artistic perspective, it is so bad. The amount of money and work that went into this could have been used to fund any number of other projects, including a bunch of smaller pieces.

Art should challenge us, make us uncomfortable, make us think about things differently. This does none of those things. I don’t want to sound like a snob and I know that there are some really good artists out there who make very thought provoking art, but this is not one of those pieces. It doesn’t even compare.

The worst part is that they are probably going to be applauded for their work. This piece makes me angry because I know what they could have done if they had just tried a little harder. So much talent and money was wasted on something that has no artistic value at all.

Art is the human expression and representation of their feelings and emotions. It has been used since the beginning of time. In the past, art was used for religious purposes, to give praise to God. Today, art can be used as a form of communication between people.

It is one of the most popular forms of communication. It can be used on many different levels; it can be expressed in many different ways. There are different types of art: music, painting, photography, sculpture and so on. When giving something artistic a thought it is important to consider what type of art it is. If a person is going to paint a picture they must choose a subject that they feel strongly about or that they have very strong feelings towards. The same goes when writing poetry or producing songs (Music).

Art can also be used as an expression of political statements or social events; for example, graffiti is an example of using street art in order to express political feelings towards a certain event or political figure. The same goes for when someone writes a song about someone else with bad intentions against them (music).

People use art in order to express their feelings towards other people or even other countries when it comes to war (sculpture). Art can also be used as an expression