Art in the Public Interest (Studies in the Fine Arts : Criticism, No 32) - Softcover

9780835720731: Art in the Public Interest (Studies in the Fine Arts : Criticism, No 32)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 083572073X ISBN 13: 9780835720731

Publisher: Umi Research Pr

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Softcover art criticism.

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This product is not a traditionally bound book. Many ProQuest UMI products are black-and-white reproductions of original publications produced through the Books On Demand � program. Alternately, this product may be a photocopy of a dissertation or it may be a collection reproduced on microfiche or microfilm if it is intended for library purchase.

Review:

The line between critical essay and polemic is often a fine one, and this collection of articles illustrates how easily one can blur the distinction. The topic of public arL the interaction of political policy and creative impulse, is currently being debatedfor example, the Corcoran Gallery and the Mapplethorpe exhibition; the NEA and Artists Space and the increasing restrictions of proposed legislation. Many of these essays have already appeared in a variety of publications from the Village Voice and Art in America to Community Murals and The Drama Review, and drawing them together into one volume in the series "Studies in the Fine Arts: Criticism" may well have value. Unfortunately, however, the result is a crazy quilt, a production of personal reflection, art and social criticism and, too often, obfuscating philosophizing. The role of the artist as social critic is far from new, and the importance of open expression and involvement of the public in creative activity has not been newly discovered by the 1980s. Once again, however, the guarantees of the First Amendment have been brought into the spotlight: What had recently been taken for granted is suddenly threatened. For guarding these essential rights, a work such as this is of importance, but its impact is minimized by the frequently strident tone and the singular vision of an omniscience that the content lacks. The difference between the public interest and the interests of the public is a gray area which is never quite explored, and the impact of the newest public art may be felt by far fewer members of the public than one imagines from the sounds generated by the more vocal population. Lucy Lippard restates the question in her article on the terms of which public is meant by public art. Wendy Feuer examines the touchy topic of governmental support of controversial works. Suzanne Lacy is represented both in her own words and in a description by Moira Roth of her single afternoon performance of "Crystal Quilt." The Storr article of Serra's 'Tilted Arc" is reprinted along with Eva Cockcroft's delineation of the creation of the twenty-six "La Lucha Murals" treating political themes on New York City buildings. Along with other artists, critics, and historians, these works discuss a number of themes and variations on art in the public domain. Protest and activism imagination and creativity are essential for the sustenance of the soul of a nation. The book's diversity of themes and styles may express the breadth of the subject matter, and many voices in many tongues can create an effective force. But despite an extensive bibliography and index and a thoughtful introduction by the editor, this volume is closer to a Tower of Babel. -- From Independent Publisher

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