First Year Seminar: Public Art/Art and Its Publics in St. Louis

3 units

The course will consider the history and functions of public art, with special attention to public art in St. Louis. Part of our investigation will be to inquire into the conditions that seem to be necessary for visual art to be considered public. So we'll consider not only the obvious forms of public art in urban sculpture and murals, but also less traditional intersections of art and public in such sites as video and the internet. We'll also examine the operations of institutions--national and local arts agencies, international exhibitions, non-profit centers and the like--that foster a public engagement with contemporary art. After studying aspects of the history of public art, we'll proceed to selected case studies today, many of them in St. Louis, including projects for Arts in Transit (the Metrolink), the Regional Arts Commission, Grand Center, and Missouri SOS (Save Outdoor Sculpture). This will lead us, finally, to theorize the function of public art in a variety of contemporary forms. Local field trips to study important public art; visiting speakers from arts agencies; student projects proposing a work of public art in St. Louis, which will acquaint students with procedures in arts administration. 3 units.