AESTHETE
ART By Michael W. Sasser
for the Masses
First examples of public art installations were religious based, often commissioned or created by religious leaders or institutions and paying homage to the deities du jour. Nobles and other civic leaders followed suit with artists and artisans creating tributes to the well-off. Sculpture and architectural pieces were obviously the early favorites as they were built to stand the test of time. Over the centuries, art in public places became a hallmark of great societies – think the Greeks and Romans among many others. It was a sign of the greatness of a society, of its intellectual and artistic establishment – things prized from the Classic era onward. Unlike art intended for private or smaller audiences, good public art is intended to be experienced en masse, speaking to a community about a community and revealing something about its particular space and time. 8 WIREMAG.COM #26 2018
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIAMI-DADE ART IN PUBLIC SPACES
ince not long after humankind evolved past its hunter-gatherer phase (assuming, if you will, that we all have) and began developing communities built to last and with relatively stable environments, the concept of public art was born. Although it's impossible to identify exactly when and where it began (just as it is largely impossible to define "art"), but it became commonplace on civilizations around the globe.