Public Art/Public Space
Art, architecture & everyday life
A roundtable discussion at Common Room Networks Foundation
Jl. Kyai Gede Utama no. 8, Bandung, Indonesia
Twitter: @CommonRoom_ID
Common Room Networks Foundation in collaboration with Roma Arts
21 September 2012, 3pm
Participants:
Moderator:
- Roy Voragen – Bandung-based writer and founder of Roma Arts
Public art can take different forms. Firstly, it
can take the form of publicly funded statues to signify a coherent narrative of
the nation, e.g. statues of national heroes like General Sudirman (when such a
narrative of the nation changes then those statues are often taken down, as in
the former Soviet countries happened when a great many Lenins and Stalins were
symbolically taken down). Secondly, it can take the form, as stipulated by law
in some countries, that a certain minimum percentage of the construction budget
of large projects should be spend on art. These two forms could, at best, be
ways to beautify the city. And a beautiful city can be pleasant, however, it is
questionable that these two forms of public art will lead to a more democratic
public space. The third form of public art takes the form of fleeting
interventions in the city, e.g. installations or graffiti. Often these are
considered vandalism (some years ago a work by Tisna Sanjaya was destroyed by
the government in Bandung as it was labeled trash). But why isn’t the
renovation of the Hotel Indonesia Circle by former governor Gen. Sutiyoso
considered vandalism? Can art and architecture influence behavior so that the
quality and quantity of democratic public space could improve? Or are we then
asking too much of art and architecture?
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