From the Festival of Britain to the Fourth Plinth, public art has long been a civic gesture, and a political one. This course is a full introduction to public art in London and the UK since the mid-twentieth century, when commissioning art for public benefit first took shape. Students ask what makes an artwork “public,” who decides what gets commissioned, how it is paid for, and what part art plays in regeneration, infrastructure and privately owned public space. Walks and site visits take the class from the Southbank and the Hyde Park memorials to Hackney’s Windrush sculptures, Art on the Underground, Sculpture in the City and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Case studies come from the instructor’s own commissioning work. Students build visual literacy, debate the power of public art and work together on a professional commissioning brief. They gain skills for careers in cultural organisations and urban development.
Cross-listed with AIC300.1.
Department: Art History
Location: London
Semester: Spring
Credits: 3