When bus stops are transformed from sterile slabs of concrete to works of site-specific art, they become arteries for cultural expression. This success is critical to the growth and overall health of communities, not just in the United States, but around the world. By connecting residents to their own cities, both literally and creatively, transportation authorities can become active cultural contributors. Could this approach work for Pittsburgh's Wilkinsburg borough?
Three Case Studies Intersecting Sustainability, Public Art, and Urban Planning
This study looks into the role of public art in the urban design process, seeking to provide insights as to how public art can intentionally be used in the urban design system to achieve the goal of sustainability. The overarching question of this research is what the purpose of public art is. As a strong visual piece inside cities, usually, on a comparatively larger scale, public art has a strong visual impact on the audience. Thus, what kind of information will be delivered to the audience? While the concept of sustainability, or, more specifically, urban sustainability, can be incestigated with various concentrations, it generates the question of what kind of urban planning governments or professional organizations are using to achieve specific sustainable issues. Is there any relationship between the purpose of public art and the method used by urban design for sustainable purposes?
Defining Public Art and How it Can Interact with Sustainability
When putting the keywords two ‘public art,’ ‘sustainability,’ or ‘urban planning’ into a an internet search, there are plenty of results about articles, research, or press releases. However, when typing all of them together, there are no results relating those three concepts together, yet public art can serve as a key player in urban design for sustainability. This Part One article will dive into the specifics of public art concerning urban design, planning, and sustainability while the Part Two article will dive into specific case studies concerning cities who have implemented sustainable public art plans.
AR Public Art & Climate Intervention
AR artwork is moving away from dependence on commercial or scientific success and artists have more freedom to create place-based artworks without necessarily having permission or costly materials. As a result, artists are stepping into the AR public art space to tell stories, respond to inequity, and shift behavior for positive social impact.