Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In the twentieth century, public sculpture has changed almost beyond recognition. Works inspired by classical and renaissance traditions--imposing equestrian monuments and triumphal arches--have been replaced by works such as Claes Oldenburg's Clothespin and Christo's Running Fence. This break from tradition has led to radically different approaches to public sculpture--but not without bitter controversy in the art community and the general public.
Contemporary Public Sculpture offers the first comprehensive look at the development of contemporary public sculpture. Beginning with the revival of public sculpture in the 1960s, with the work of Picasso, Calder, Moore, Nevelson, and others, Senie traces the various developments that defined a new civic art which substituted the artist's fame for public content and sparked debates about cost, the role of government, and the place of public art in a democratic society. She shows how the growing irrelevance of traditional memorials resulted in new approach to the genre defined by Maya Lin's Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, which set out to "heal a nation" rather than glorify a military event by honoring victims rather than heroes; and how dissatisfaction with modern "glass box" architecture and its surrounding barren urban spaces led architectural firms like like Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill to use art to enliven both. Senie discusses how the earthworks of Robert Smithson and others inspired public sculpture that brought various landscape elements into urban sites; and she explores works by George Sugarman and Scott Burton that combine sculpture and furniture, changing the very idea of public art by creating a stage for public life. Finally, she examines the controversies that arise when citizens (including press and politicians) confront publicly funded work--such as Joel Shapiro's so-called "Headless Gumby" or Serra's Tilted Arc--that defies their sense of what public sculpture should be.
Illustrated with over a hundred halftones, this overview of contemporary public sculpture provides a clear understanding of why it is there, why it looks the way it does, and what is really at stake in the continuing public art controversy.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This is a well-conceived and well-written overview of the transformations that have changed the purposes and character of most public art since the 1960s. Its value lies in its critical stance, as compared with descriptive surveys of these new directions, such as John Beardsley's 1981 Art in Public Places. Many readers may take issue with the frequent implication that public art that is not well received by the community in which it is placed has failed in an essential respect. Nevertheless, Senie provides a consistently fair and thoughtful analysis of the side range of works she brings together for analysis and evaluation. She addresses the issue of public controversy and its significance, calling for increased efforts to educate the lay public and to involve communities in the selection processes that bring works of art to their public spaces. Appropriate for a wide readership, it is recommended for academic and public libraries. C. M. Howett; University of Georgia

Author notes provided by Syndetics

About the Author:
Harriet Senie is Director of Museum Studies at the City College of New York. She is coeditor and contributor to the anthology Critical Issues in Public Art and author of the forthcoming Dangerous Precedent: Richard Serra's "Tilted Arc" in Context. Senie has curated exhibitions on public art and served on many public art selection panels. She writes regularly for the German public art magazine Orte.