Public Art: Designed Not to Offend

“The Ego and the Id” by Franz West, on East 60th & Fifth AveWe have a thought-provoking read in the NYT on the subject of public sculpture in the city.

The big problem in outdoor art, says Art - Well-Behaved Street-Corner Sculpture in New York, is the absense of any consensus values in our pluralistic, multicultural society. The point is an insightful one: It’s hard to imagine a public sculpture of a hero today that would not be regarded by one faction or another as partisan. As an unscientific sampling of art in the public realm this summer confirms, contemporary outdoor art tends to offer unobjectionable, mildly decorative or entertaining and relatively empty experiences.