While we often move through different spaces in society continuously, many individuals do not necessarily regard the importance of these urban spaces within their daily lives. It is important to consider the definition of public space in order to further explore certain activities that take place within this sphere. According to Mehta (2014), a definition of public space that focuses on the access and use of space, defines this space as “publicly accessible places where people go for group or individual activities” (p. 54). Thus, these are spaces that contain a variety of different uses and for the purpose of this paper one particular use that explores public space in an alternative way is public art festivals. Public art has been a large …show more content…
The Nuit Blanche 2017 focuses around the theme Many Possible Futures which allows for further exploration of the challenges and crisis’ within Canadas history and day to day. As a result, this event encourages individuals to explore the everyday spaces of the city and offers numerous possibilities on how the cities spaces can be used. This paper wishes to put forth the idea that Nuit Blanche is used as means of enhancing awareness of social issues into the public sphere through the use of transforming everyday spaces with art. This begins by recognizing that Nuit Blanche allows individuals to revisit the ways in which spaces are used in the city. In addition, the festival helps individuals regain an understanding of public space through the various messages being communicated. Lastly, it promotes the development and growth of social life within the public sphere.
In order to achieve a critical investigation of the Nuit Blanche festival one particular zone of interest is the art exhibits located around Queens Park and University of Toronto. Queens Park on Wellesly Street, is a public park in the downtown area of Toronto open to residents as well as visitors of the area. The park was created between 1886 and 1892 as a legislative building for the province of Ontario
In the age of terror, Contemporary artist enagge in politics, transform public space to build community by
Making a public artwork can cause some controversy, everyone will judge the piece. It may also effect the city, depending on the message that the piece is trying to bring. There is a lot of cultural points of view that people have to look for, although not everyone will see the artwork the same. “Cultural point of view affects the meaning viewers construct for the artwork” (promt). For example, there is a Last Conquistador statue that is located at El Paso, Texas. This is a piece is a piece of artwork created by, John Houser. He created a man riding a horse, and most people knew who the man on the horse was. The man was called, Juan de Oñate, he was a Spanish leader that took and destroyed El Paso. With that being said, you can imagine how
Public art encapsulates a large part of Chicago’s history, and engages many different people in varying ways. Recently, I was in the city observing art and came across a woman who was seeing the same pieces I was. She proceeded to tell me she had just gotten off a plane, that morning, from New York, keep in mind it was around noon when I saw her, and wanted to show her daughter the great pieces of public art in Chicago. She passionately relayed the rich historical context of a few works of art: her main point being that Chicago is a hub for a booming culture of art. She noted that great artists from Europe, such as Picasso, Chagall, and Dubuffet, wanted to be a part of the modern art trends happening in Chicago in the twentieth century. She went as far to say that “these [pieces of artwork] are unique in the world,” meaning they are so well known and respected that their popularity extends beyond the city of Chicago. It is curious to think about what makes a successful work of public art, and why artists and observers alike are so intrigued with the art in Chicago. In my opinion, two works of Chicago’s public art, Monument with Standing Beast and Cloud Gate, serve as effective works of public art due to their complexity and appropriate placement in space, however Cloud Gate is more effective because of its personal appeal to the audience.
In recent times public spaces have been used for protests. One example was the controversy regarding the confederate flag. As a result of the demonstration and debate the flag was removed. The public space that I chose is Gerard Park for the following reasons. First, it’s location it is easy for me to get in my car and arrive there in minutes with moderate traffic. Secondly, the park offers a variety of services there is a walking trail for people like myself who loves walking. There is a play area for the children, which includes a slide, swing, and merry-go-round. Older kids have a choice of playing indoor or outdoor basketball. Thirdly, the park offers many services to the community. During the summer swimming lessons are taught.
“Artists who didn’t grow up in Boyle Heights see it as a blank canvas, they don’t realize they are painting over another work of art”, Voices of people living in communities all around LAL are being silenced by larger galleries suffocating local contemporaries. When on trend, these galleries begin to draw in artists and crowds from outside the community, again this can be seen as a good thing, however when galleries don’t support their community they allow for the unintentional creation of a new arts district that people can not afford and begin to be displaced. Independent spaces quickly begin to disappear along with the artists they often feature; these bigger galleries need to engage with these communities so voices can be heard to their fullest potential in all communities around Los
what does the history of mural making in public spaces tell us?where can we trace
I was peering out my window on that gloomy winter day when I was reminded of the cultural log that I had yet to accomplish. After considering several options, I decided that that day, January 3rd, would be the perfect day to visit the Northville Art House. I had never been there before, so I thought it would be an ideal experience to start off the new year. Soon after that initial idea, my Mom and I drove to the art house in a quest for art and cultural experiences to bring with us into 2017.
In ‘Street Art: The Transfiguration of the Commonplaces,’ Nicholas Arden Riggle claims that the experience of seeing public art is different as the setting of a work can change the perception of the spectator. Thus by moving public art into a museum, it would eliminate the “material use of street” and change their purpose. When talking about Tilted Arc he argues that the public space is internal to its meaning, this would change the meaning and the art. The following quote by Richard Serra was said at the hearing and reflects what was his vision for the work and the
While visiting the Capitol Square, I felt like I had stepped back into an ancient
I wanted to find an artist that was from the Tri-Cities, so that I could actually see the art work in person. I have always enjoyed looking at public art especially when it comes to sculptures. Looking at public art, can tell you a lot about the surrounding area. I looked up public artists online to find there were several who created pieces for the Tri-Cities. I picked out my favorite pieces, which were sculptures, and found out they were created by the same person. That artist is C.J. Rench. I was surprised to find out how many pieces he actually made for Tri-Cities and how he has created other pieces across the country. However, the pieces he created for Tri-Cities are: Tree of Seasons, Dancing Fields, Catch the Spirit, Happy Human, and Jump.
I will be exploring the theme of public space first as a general concept, dissecting what the phrase means and how it’s been used in global conversation. Then, I will give a few examples of how public space manifests itself in the world. For instance, a possible point of discussion could be the North Carolinian act HB2 that requires individuals to use bathrooms that correspond with the sex listed on their birth certificate, a clear discriminatory move against the trans community. “Public space” is a concept integral to cities, their conception, and their development. A city is an intricate web of public and private spaces. Navigating those spaces can be a challenge for some citizens of a city. The ever-adapting nature of the city means that,
The day included in-depth discussions about creative placemaking and the critical role that arts and culture play in community development and sustainability. It was not until I absorbed this exchange that I realized the notion of art and its place in urban development is not as farfetched a claim as I originally thought. In fact, the arts can be the element policymakers have been seeking to solve issues within urban communities across our country. I came away from the discussion with a new understanding about creative
Many argue that the major risk noticed the safe cities is rejected and abandoned public space and neglected of the right of public presence in this kind of spaces (Kohn, 2004). With the increasing dependence on cars Resonance abandoned public domain and sprawl of the city. The cost of neglecting the interactions in the public domain can be enumerated in items such as reduced physical activity everyday (that obesity in follow), increases social isolation (which is associated with the risk of depression) and reduced social capital(Frumkin,
Space is defined in world fairs, As Tom Gunning argues, acts as an ‘object lesson’, meaning that teaching us and can be argued shape how we act in society, and predominately shape how we view society.It wants to bring in ‘practically the whole world…and a time saving educational experience’ into the fair (Cunning,1994). As an example, Mr.Cunning uses the example of fairs and amusement parks and
Not only does Nuit Blanche provide the city of Toronto with a different means of exploring how everyday public spaces are used, but the spectacle is also able to take part in the process of allowing individuals to regain an understanding of the important messages found throughout the city in which many individuals often ignore. This process takes place through the messages that are being portrayed by the various art pieces found within this event. Each one of the artists who share their work in Nuit Blanche for the residents of Toronto as well as those who may visit the event from other areas of the city or country, have a specific story or message for the audience that is viewing their art piece. Therefore, it can be explained that they are able to use street art in this festival as Ripmeester (2010) analyzes, as a means of quick delivery while also challenging the homogenization, sanitization and privatization that is often associated with public space (p. 186). Nuit Blanche encourages these individuals to integrate important messages in order to shift how individuals view the city and shed light on many different issues. The night of this event moves beyond what public space normally stands for and gives artists an opportunity to try and make a difference. For example, exploring the art piece created by the Madeleine Co, found in the Taking to the Streets zone further demonstrates this idea. The Madeleine Co art collective created the art piece 24: Listen to the Chorus. The project is a large video installation found on Queens Park Crescent in which the four women perform a poetry piece accompanied by music (See Appendix Figure 2). It is interesting to note that in this piece the audience cannot see the entire faces of these women but rather the part of their face from their nose downward. The video installation is quite large and is able to capture its audience fairly quickly. The purpose of this project however, is to explore the state of women’s rights. The project aims to do this by amplifying “voices of those who identify as a women and to present a chorus of resistance that implores the audience to listen” (“Nuit Blanche Toronto”). The women who are involved in this art project all have the similar