Smaller Public Art

 It's been a while since I talked about public art, but since it's an important topic about what makes cities both distinct and livable, I wanted to revisit it: but this time with an emphasis not on big elaborate set-pieces, but on the smaller touches that can make a city beautiful.

1. Idiosyncrasy

I love little pieces that make the city seem like it has a personality:

This piece in the Montréal subway isn't huge; it's easy to miss. But when you notice it, it makes that station stand out a little bit, and makes Montréal as a whole feel a little more lived in, a little more human.

Or look at this little light-up rainbow ribbon in the Village in Toronto. It's not something huge or permanent; but it does give the neighborhood personality.

These little touches make a place feel different, but not foreign (despite, I suppose, these literally being foreign to me, as Canadian cities). They make it feel like a place people like enough to make their own.

2. Texture

Now, individually these produce this sense of idiosyncrasy--but collectively, in large numbers, they can create a larger texture to the city that makes all of it (even the bits without public art) feel more human-scaled.

Sometimes that's practical in terms of actual use, like these little steps in the Boston metro area that people can sit on and such, but often it's just a sense of place.

Things like fountains are common as an example of this kind of low-stakes creation of distinctive spaces--though not all of them have this many dog statues, Toronto!

3. Public Doesn't Necessarily Mean Government-Funded

Of course, not all "public" art in the sense of art that makes the city feel distinct is "public" in the sense of funded by the government, whether directly or by things like a "percent for art" program. 

Graffiti is the most obvious example of this: a culture that accepts or even promotes graffiti in certain locations looks different than one that scrubs every instance of it off as soon as possible.

A little free library may be a less contentious example. But the point is that encouraging this kind of smaller-scale, non-monumental public art can make a city feel special. 

And having places that feel like distinct places is a key part of urbanism, just as much as housing or transportation.