whose art is it?

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is interacting and collaborating with other artists. In my own art-making practice collaboration is key and is the bedrock of each and every project. For the purpose of this project however, I am a public art curator.  So although there is no collaboration with the artists on their projects, discussing the philosophical issues around creating a work for the public is very complex and interesting. A couple of the artists in one way or another wanted to know who were they really making the art for, in other words, who did they need to please. The answer should be simple but it never is. As the old adage goes,  “you can please some of the people some of the time… but not all of the people all of the time”, therefore the goal shouldn’t be about pleasing anyone in particular but about creating what you believe is the best work of art for the intended public. But, that’s where the challenge begins because creating an artwork that resonates with the public while maintaining the integrity of a work of art can be a balancing act that can easily faulter. And that's where a good panel comes in...

"Yearling" by Donald Lipski was commissioned for an elementary school in a primarily Hispanic community in New York City but once the artwork was installed the community petitioned for its immediate removal. It turns out a dean from a nearby Yeshiva was successful in preventing the construction of the school for twenty years because he was quoted saying, "the [Hispanic] kids are animals".  To the community, the sculpture was a constant reminder  of those harsh words.  By all accounts this is considered a great work of art, lack of  proper community input made it a terrible public artwork for the community for which it was intended. The artwork was immediately removed.