God is in the details – how public arts impacts a space, what makes it important, and the misunderstanding of what makes something ‘art’

There is a palpable divide in people’s minds between ‘fine’ art and craft or decoration. There is an intolerance towards something ‘crafty’ being considered art, even the word itself, ‘crafty’ can be used as an insult, a diminishment of work. A painting in a gallery would seldom be labelled ‘crafty’, but hand-made items, jewellery, clothing etc. can often be attributed this label. Another term we often view as incongruent with the ‘art’ label is ‘decor’. An underlying attitude persists; a work has lesser artistic meaning (or none at all) if it is considered decorative. This rejection of craft or decoration as art leads to a lot of perceived and real snobbery within the fine art world. Of course, there is some merit to the discussion; where do we draw the line of what is and is not acceptable as fine art? How do we choose the media which is gallery worthy? What even is art? And most importantly for this article: what is public art, why is it important and how can we keep it alive?

What is public art?

When we think of public art, we probably think of public access sculptures, in parks, universities and city centres. Maybe we think of monuments or council/business commissioned murals on the outside of buildings, perhaps we even think of modern architectural marvels such as the Sydney Opera House. Although these are valuable, important pieces of art which should continue being made, this is not all that I think of when I say public art.

What I think of is all the small, unnoticed, ‘crafty’, ‘decorative’ pieces which most people would not think to call art, the little details in cities everywhere which make them unique, make streets and homes and parks feel that much more human. I think of engravings and appliques on the handles of park benches, lampposts, bridges, I picture the various bricks in the walls of houses even the different colours of people’s front doors. I think of bunting strewn up above the central city streets or Christmas lights and installations drawn up around town. I think of carnival rides with beautifully hideous artworks imprinted on their sides and colourful restaurant chairs. Everything which breathes life into a place, everything that means you can tell one street from another, the little details that adorn a town and give it a sense of self.

I don’t believe that something has to be ‘gallery worthy’ in order to be considered art as there is no consensus on what art really is. I hate to see decorative pieces looked down on, when functionality is the only goal in the design of a public space. Yes, a bench can just be made of cold, hard metal and placed on cold, hard asphalt – but isn’t it much more engaging, more atmospheric, more beautiful and interesting to see a bench carved and engraved, forged into an art piece whilst still serving a function? Why should the two, functionality and artistry, be mutually exclusive? I believe there is room in every design for beauty, and that this isn’t frivolous or insignificant but what makes the world wonderfully human.

Why is everything 50 shades of grey now?

Of course, this is a slightly facetious question, as I think there is still interesting and unique architectural and urban design in the modern era. However, at least in the western world, the minimalist design is now much more preferred to the elaborate and intricate urban designs of past centuries. The minimalist design, as well as turning away from embellishment, pattern, engraving etc. is also often less colourful and consists of simple shapes and textures. There are few reasons for this, including the new materials used to build structures. Whereas in the past, brick, stone and wood were used in the creation of a city landscape, manufactures now lean towards cheaper, easier to work with mediums such as steel, concrete, plastic and glass. These materials are less organic, create less character in a structure and when painted in greyscale (as studies have found is the most popular colour spectrum for modern ‘objects’) they blend together, causing the city landscape to appear bland and bleak.

The social response to minimalism is varied, some people fully embrace the ‘function and efficiency above everything else’ approach, whilst others are eager to see colour brought back into their homes and towns. Yet studies have shown that monotonous architecture can affect a person’s mood for the worse and can increase one’s anxiety and depression. This shift towards a homogenised, uncreative city infrastructure is beneficial for the manufacturer, on account of its cheapness, but can be detrimental to the average person’s mental and emotional wellbeing. ‘Function over form’ is costing us our minds.

How do we keep public art alive?

I don’t want to make it seem that all is lost, as this is not the case, there are still many architects, designers and everyday people who embrace public art in their creations. ‘Yarnbombing’ is a phenomenon that has gained traction in the UK in the past few years – with people covering everyday grey objects (poles, benches, rails etc.) with colourful handknitted pieces. Essentially very cute and heartwarming graffiti which disrupts the monotonous landscape and challenges minimalism with a complete reversal of all its principles – whilst still not losing functionality!

Nottingham’s spray-paint-art covered walls are another beautiful example of combating greyscale structures, with their bright, intricate compositions they show that even without rebuilding whole bland buildings, we can still add colour back into the world.

I think what is most absent now, is the whimsy of everyday objects and structures, these things are usually standardised and uninteresting – lacking a built-in creative design. But if we embrace craft and decor as art, if we allow ourselves to create functional beauty, we can populate the world with our own whimsical design. Gallery art is important and should be created, but so should public art – and it’s up to us to ensure its continued existence.

Dasha Kurbatova
Pending Collective Member at BACKLIT Gallery

To find out more about Pending Collective please visit there website here

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