The Controversy of Public Art Online Short Course

Course overview

Public art and monuments fundamentally assume a collective consensus of social values. They often aim to re-establish, educate or critique aspects of the same social-political system that produced them. As a result, public art is often met with confusion, distrust, anger and vandalism.

Designed for all levels, this 5-week online short course examines the historical and contemporary controversies that surround public art. The course speaks to wider social-political concerns that deal with race, gender, sexuality, class, nationalism, religion, inequality, collective memory and migration.

Through a series of engaging lectures, students explore a range of works including Richard Serra's Tilted Arc, Christo and Jeanne-claude's Wrapped Reichstag, Jochen Gerz's Monument Against Fascism, Rachel Whiteread's House, Anish Kapoor's Versailles, Marc Quinn's Fourth Plinth, Nicole Eisenman's Sketch for a Fountain, Banu Cennetoglu's The List, and Shahzia Sikander's Witness.

The course explores the complex relationship between art and the public domain, drawing on critical reflections from James E. Young, Rosalyn Deutsche, W.J.T. Mitchell and Claire Bishop. These insights create debate around the disadvantages public dissension has against public art, as well as how these works can be seen to embody cultural tensions and empowerment.

Who this course is for

This online short course is aimed at anyone who wants to explore the polemic relationship public art has in the social domain, including art students, curators and educators.

It would be an excellent fit for students working in the fine arts and performance, socially engaged, community, participatory and activist based art.