Public what?

Okay, so I go marching off into the world ready to talk and look at public art. But what does public art mean?
It has meant different things in London and in Cardiff, and here in Glasgow, if I ask where can I see some contemporary public art I will get a blank look and a referral to the GoMA or Glasgow Museum of Modern Art (which is where incidentally I am writing this from; Glasgow have kindly furnished me with a library card and wonderful access to their library computers beneath the gallery).
There are flourishes here and there in wrought iron, and plenty of colour on the streets (clothes and tattoos) but nothing that we would recognise as contemporary public art visa vie NZ in the heart of the city.
No murals, no painted transformer boxes, no kinetic sculpture on the corner just for the apparent hang of it.
There is as has been in Paris, London and Cardiff so far, bountiful riches in heritage architecture. There are great monuments to poets and politicians. In George Square there is Walter Scott atop a plinth that may approach, but not equal, Nelson's Column in London. Heroic stuff indeed.
And there are the Charles Rennie MacIntosh buildings and structures, of which I have yet to fully explore.
It's Sunday here. Unusally hot I am told, and more of the city's culture and heritage to be explored.

I think my ramblings about aesthetics are actually leading somewhere.
Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act here in the UK determine that a certain financial consideration be given by developers toward social and cultural things and that includes art. It does appear to require a motivated planner to drive the arts component.
Councils do not on the whole seem to have arts teams, save those which deliver arts funding (eg Westminster) and so arts policies such as they are tend to driven through planning departments of councils. Private arts project management teams are usually engaged by developers to commission artists on their behalf. Councils then may or may not stay involved through the implementation phase.
This also means that temporary projects on the street or in public spaces go through planning departments for permission or consents.
As in NZ, the route often taken by developers to include art is interation in the building. There are some fine and interesting examples, but they would not necessarily grab your attenton at first glance as art, melding into the structure of the building or in the case of a number of projects they involve light and so require darkness to be appreciated.
It is at this point I wonder where art that is conceptual, adds to the public realm. And here the use of at time highly conceptual art, must evolve from the way public art is defined here in the UK. Public art arising from section 106 is most often on private land.
In this discourse-what is public and what is not- what countenance is taken of the community interest. Architecture seems to influence the art more overtly in some instances, trend or fashion in others as well as the artist's concept. Maybe the other area that needs discussion is the intersection of art and of architecture (something for a future blog).
In cities like Paris and London the architecture unquestionably plays a significant role in defining the experience of place: that which is lived in, that which is monumental and the great bronze works and decorative treatments of bridges, lighting standards and so on.
What role will the current arts/architecture aesthetic play in the future? What will the legacy be?
Hoping to post images in the next post...

Aesthetics, Art and Architecture

I spent the last weekend in Paris, mostly wondering aimlessly (though once following a map-it still seemed my aim was absent) and enjoying the architecture and art works, and the way that people were living with and around it all.
The scale of the buildings and monuments is the most striking element for me. Such architectural and artistic feats would have required immense resources and a vast (skilled)
The line between art and architecture seems undefined in old Paris and old London architecture and monuments. There is consideration of statement (authority, status etc) but also of aesthetics which must surely play a part in why they have stood the test of time.
I am not sure where I am going with this (still wandering aimlessly), only that I am thinking the way we work to integrate art and architecture or capital works, can be improved, and that an appreciation of aesthetics may be a part of that improvement.

He Poroporoaki

Over Easter weekend a local historian passed away. Don Stafford had done much to ensure the stories, historical events and lives in particular of local Maori were well documented.

Don was a hugely generous character who was always willing to offer insight and advice. He very kindly reviewed text for The Volcanic Heartland- a guide to our districts public art and on more than one occasion lent his expertise to our planning of public art works here in Rotorua.

Opportunities for significant public artworks in a small city are not so frequent, and so usually will honour or make reference to notable figures or moments in history. The recorders and keepers of our stories are then very central to much of our preparation for public art works.

So, we will miss Don, and I take this opportunity to acknowledge the role of the historians, the writers and nga kaumatua Maori and Pakeha in building the foundation for so many public art works.

Haere atu ra. Haere ki nga tupuna kua riro ki te po.

UK-Ireland Public Arts Investigation

This blog has been set up to share thoughts and experiences on public arts.

The establishment of the blog is absolutely linked to my fast approaching departure to the UK and Ireland to investigate approaches to public arts development, including strategic plans and policies, funding and community involvement.

As the arts officer at the Rotorua District Council (RDC) I am responsible for developing and implementing arts policies. These policies enable Council to support a huge range of programmes and projects. If you are curious about what these projects might be then I invite you to visit www.creativerotorua.org.nz.

RDC's Art in Public Policy was revised last in 2008. As with all public arts policies and plans around the country, approaches or strategies from other territorial authorities both in and outside of NZ, influenced the original policy development. There are some familiar strands through public arts policies everywhere, with notable variations usually around selection, staffing and funding.

For a small city of 65,000+ people, my feeling is that Rotorua has a reasonably strong collection of public art, including murals, carving and sculpture. Of course this is a reflection of an area which has been a cultural destination for well over 100 years.

I will be looking at how we can further develop and improve our public arts programme. Maintaining this blog will be fulfil part of my responsibility to share the experiences and learning while abroad.

A Winston Churchill Fellowship is enabling this investigation, for which I am hugely grateful.