Public Art

“THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION

The Works Progressive Administration (WPA) was a New Deal measure with a three part agenda. Initially, it was a government attempt to employ a variety of artists, writers, and musicians so that the work they produced could help them make a living and subsequently enhance the quality of American life during the Great Depression. From this inital aim developed several other agendas, including a federal push toward the creation of a "national culture." This concept was one developed and pushed for by a government that viewed economically struggling America as a people without a unifying, central culture. With regard to artwork, the WPA commissioned thousands of artists to observe the American scene; that is, its people, its landscape, and its architecture, and capture through their brushstrokes and lenses, the life they were seeing.

This project, focusing on the murals and photographs produced during this era, is an attempt to explore some of the consequences of government intervention with regard to the standardization and creation of an American culture. It examines in detail, both the regional and national attitudes cultivated and at the same time takes a closer look at two of the art forms, murals and photographs, employed by the federal government to construct a tangible American culture.”

“The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all. The term is especially significant within the art world, amongst curators, commissioning bodies and practitioners of public art, to whom it signifies a particular working practice, often with implications of site specificity, community involvement and collaboration. The term is sometimes also applied to include any art which is exhibited in a public space including publicly accessible buildings.”

“How to Win Public Art Commissions

Valerie Atkisson / ArtBistro

One lucrative way to make money as an artist is to win public commissions. Artists are commissioned for public art usually in connection with a new building or construction project. Most states have a law that mandates 1% of the total construction cost for a public building go to art for the building. Usually, state and city art groups have the latest information on what construction project is currently accepting applications. Sign up for their notification list and you will receive notices. Submissions for public work can be submitted by individuals or groups. You may want to collaborate with another artist who has done this before, a designer, or with an architect.

Site Specific or Artist Specific?

When coming up with art for public places, artists usually take one of two approaches. Some artists submit work for the space that is truly their own work. That same piece of work would be sold in a gallery. Other artists propose art that is created specifically for the space. It may have to do with the geography or purpose of the building. I have seen plenty of both kinds of work in public places. I am of the latter group; I like to make work for a specific space and purpose.

Elizabeth L. Kelley, Director, Public Art Program City of Chicago has this advice:

“For each project of the City of Chicago Public Art program and the CTA Arts In Transit program, we issue a request for proposal. Each project and RFP unique but in every case, the ‘best possible proposal’ is one in which the artist has followed the directions and project parameters set forth in the rfp – which often includes research and knowledge of the community or the facility for which the artwork is proposed. If an artist submits a proposal which has not taken the information of the rfp into proper consideration – this reflects poorly on the artist’s professionalism.

Artists are selected to participate in a public art competition as a result of their past or current bodies of artwork. For this reason, i would advise artists to contact the project administrator and inquire about the works from his/her portfolio that influenced the selection of the artist as a finalist – and to consider those works while developing the proposal. Secondly, a brief artist’s statement is a good one. Lastly, I would encourage artists to seize the opportunity to push the limits of their ideas and the funding allocated to a project. Safe and predictable ideas and forms do not make for provocative and enduring works of public art!"”