Public Art and Public Spaces a Year 12 Case Study

1. Public Art and Public Spacesa 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?

2. Nelson’s Column, Trafalgar Square, London. This commemorates the British admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar.

3. 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.

4. 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?

5. Ron Robertson-Swan - Vault 1980

6. Ron Robertson-Swann - Vault 1980http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/10/02/1033538671587.htmlhttp://www.artwrite.cofa.unsw.edu.au/9918/carson.html

7. Ron Robertson-Swan - Vault 1980 • Vault was installed in Melbourne’s Swanston Street squarein 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.

8. 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."

9. Tilted Arc - Richard Serra, 1981, sculpture, steel, New York City (destroyed).

10. Tilted Arc - Richard Serra, 1981, sculpture, steel, New York City (destroyed).

11. 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."

12. 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

13. Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994http://www.artistsineastlondon.org/frameset.htm

14. Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994 (the original site)

15. Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994 (work in progress).

16. Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994 (the completed work).

17. Rachel Whiteread, "House", London 1993 –1994 (the vacated site).

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. Edge of the Trees by Fiona Foley and Janet LawrenceSydney 1994

21. Edge of the Trees by Fiona Foley and Janet Lawrence

22. 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

24. Alison Lapper Pregnant by Marc Quinn 1994 Installed in Trafalgar Square, London 2005.

25. 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 included photographs of herself as a child wearing the artificial limbs which she now shuns. She has since exhibited in group shows and solo exhibitions. Marc Quinn with the maquette for Alison Lapper Pregnant

26. 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

27. “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

28. 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?

29. 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 TheVault today?

30. 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.

31. EssayQuestion Explore the relative responsibilities of: • The “Commissioning Body”; • The Artist; • Public Authorities; • The General Public in commissioning, creating and maintaining artworks in public places.