Comments on: How should we look at public art? http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=1598 News for Art Historians Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:57:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Jon Lackman http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=1598&cpage=1#comment-138437 Jon Lackman Wed, 19 May 2010 16:20:20 +0000 http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=1598#comment-138437 The Mall is a great topic in the study of public art. It is, in a way, triply public: in a public space, constructed with public funds, and intended to symbolize the public. I look forward to having a look at <em>Monument Wars</em>. I so enjoyed studying nineteenth-century France for my dissertation largely because the art and public spheres were so entwined. And I've been fascinated by the recent <a target="_blank" href="http://thesecondpass.com/?p=1376" rel="nofollow">restoration</a> of the Paris Pantheon's monumental clock by the underground group UX. The group has also staged clandestine midnight theater performances inside the monument. They have decided, in effect, that the Pantheon belongs to the public and that therefore the public (themselves included) should get to bend the building to its purposes and desires. Within limits of course: I doubt they'd sanction a freelance demolition of the building. The Mall is a great topic in the study of public art. It is, in a way, triply public: in a public space, constructed with public funds, and intended to symbolize the public. I look forward to having a look at Monument Wars. I so enjoyed studying nineteenth-century France for my dissertation largely because the art and public spheres were so entwined. And I’ve been fascinated by the recent restoration of the Paris Pantheon’s monumental clock by the underground group UX. The group has also staged clandestine midnight theater performances inside the monument. They have decided, in effect, that the Pantheon belongs to the public and that therefore the public (themselves included) should get to bend the building to its purposes and desires. Within limits of course: I doubt they’d sanction a freelance demolition of the building.

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