Thesis Research

Source: Public Art, Public Controversy

pg. 18
The Commissioning of a Work of Public Sculpture
by Judity H. Balfe and Margaret J. Wyszomirski

“...the interests involved in public art commissions are not only more numerous, but often arise from collectivities that are themselves variegated and diffuse.”

“The three major parties in public art commissions are

1. artists, who desire artistic freedom, recognition, and security for their work;
2. commissioning public agencies, which are responsible for the promotion of the long-term aesthetic welfare of society, but which also must be concerned with meeting political and procedural expectations regarding their actions and with maintaining their bureaucratic resources and support bases; and
3. the public, which must assent to the funding and give community acceptace to the particular works installed in its midst.

“Respectively the major issue of concern for each party varies. For the artist, the primary issue is aesthetic. For the public agency, it is legal and political. For the public, a mixture of sociological and aesthetic issues are foremost. In the best of circumstances, the interests of these three parties converge to their mutual benefit.”