Public Art

 When thinking about how to build cities, one thing that strikes me as particularly important to making a place feel distinct and memorable is public art. 

Obviously, this doesn't mean that all the other urbanist things that I tend to talk about in this blog are unimportant, or even less important. But when I was going through my pictures to think about what sticks with me about places, it's often the art. And so I wanted to talk a bit about what elements tend to make art feel memorable, rather than pointless or uninspiring.

1. Visible But Not Invasive

To me, a key element of placemaking with art is that it should be visible (that is, you should notice it) but not invasive (the space should still operate for other purposes than just being an art piece, and it shouldn't interrupt the use of the space).

These birds in Milwaukee strike me as a good example of this, near the Public Market:

I notice them literally every time I'm there, though admittedly that hasn't been too too many times, and they make it feel like this is a particular place, one that isn't like others. But at the same time they don't take over the space; they're there, but not forcing me to avoid them to go use the public spaces they're occupying.

2. Usefulness Is A Plus

Those birds are cute, but not adding a lot other than (admittedly valuable!) atmosphere. These columns in Amsterdam, on the other hand, also served to meaningfully light up the space they were occupying, which speaks to my second point: public art that serves a public function besides being art is a definite bonus.

Now, I was in a hurry and this picture may not do them justice. You might think this is just a lighted column, which could just be infrastructure and not art. But the lights are rainbow, and definitely intended to be beautiful and not just functional. I don't think they would be there if they weren't art (the other columns aren't lit up, for instance, and this was the only underpass with the lit columns at all on this walk). This is art! It is just art that happens to be extremely functional as well, and that's a plus in my book.

3. Use Wasted Space Well

Now, some public art, like the examples above, is in places people would normally go anyway. 

Some public art, however, is a use of a space that would otherwise really not draw crowds. But it can be a great use of those kind of spaces that would otherwise maybe be "wasted space," forgotten spots like the underside of a bridge, for instance, that could just be cement.

Well, the example I'm going to use is cement, but it's shaped, and used, and iconic. Yes, from my birth hometown, welcome the Fremont Troll:

See him looming up there? You weren't going to use that space anyway. It's too small for a building. It's underneath a huge bridge. 

But there he is, large as life and twice as scary. He could easily not be there. The above angle shows that there is a perfectly reasonable design choice right next to him that's just...arched bridge support. And that is just fine. But it's not art, and it's not a draw, and it's not beautiful.

He is. And people notice.

The Troll is his own attraction, and that's wonderful. It's a great use of a space otherwise no one would make any use of, and people who have to walk there would simply scurry by not realizing the lost opportunity.

So, make use of your spaces, provide things that are beautiful, useful, and non-invasive, and spend some time designing your city to have public art!