Public Art In Canada

Arguably, public art is experienced daily by more people than most offerings in galleries, yet our notion of what constitutes public art is surprisingly limited. Public Art in Canada broadens the critical discussion by exploring public art's varied means of engaging with public space and the public sphere. Annie Gérin and James S. McLean have assembled contributions from new and established Canadian scholars, curators, and artists. Each contributor enlivens our understanding of public art as a practice and its place in the social and aesthetic formation of which it is a part. As a result, the book provides an overview of the current debates in the field of public art that are informed by the theories and critical literature of art history, communication studies, cultural studies, sociology, and urban studies. The rigorous essays and original works of art collected in this volume present a compelling demonstration of the strategies, aesthetic and otherwise, used by artists to elicit intellectual, sensual, or emotional responses that can only be obtained through artistic practices in public places. Public Art in Canada is a major contribution to the study of Canadian art and culture.

Toronto has over 600 public outdoor sculptures, works of art that provide a sense of the rich variety of life and work in the city, its peoples, cultures and aspirations. Interest in commissioning public sculpture began slowly in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, but increased rapidly after the 1950s.This is a book about the sculptures and how they disclose the city to itself. Creating Memory’s two introductory sections examine the factors behind this expansion over time and the changes in style as one generation of sculptors succeeded another. It looks at the reasons behind the changes as sculptures were conceived, sculpted and erected. More than 10 categories of sculptures are defined and discussed, including Founding the City, Natural Environment, Immigration, Ethnic Groups, Economic Activities, Disaster and Calamity, War And Conflict, Leaders, Ordinary Citizens, Community Life, and Works of the Imagination.

The work of forty-two world-renowned artists, from eleven participating countries, fills this comprehensive and colourful volume. Within its pages, The International Creators' Organization transports its readers around the world on a voyage of discovery, where many treasures of great public art from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are found and explored. This thoughtful and beautiful book has captured the global essence of dynamic public art, integrating art into the environment. SELLING POINTS: Showcases outstanding examples of public art from eleven participating countries - the UK, Serbia, Finland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Italy, the USA, Denmark, France, Canada and Japan Includes contributions from forty-two world-renowned artists, including Isamu Noguchi, Daniel Durn, Christo and Jeanne-Claude and Joost van Santen. 1000 colour illustrations

Public art is on the urban agenda. Given recent claims about the importance of creativity to urban prosperity, opportunities for installing or performing art in the city have multiplied. As cities strive to appear culturally dynamic, the stakes of artistic production rise higher than ever. Exploring the interaction between art and the public in Canadian cities, Urban Encounters features writing by artists, architects, curators, anthropologists, geographers, and urban studies specialists. They show how people and places affect the structure and content of public artworks, what kinds of urban spaces and socialities are generated through art, and how to investigate and interpret encounters between art and its viewers in the city. Discussing a variety of art forms, including mobile cinemas, street improvisation, audiovisual investigations, and assembled objects, the contributors treat public artworks not just as aesthetic installations, but as agents that participate in the social and cultural evolution of cities. Using original, hands-on approaches, Urban Encounters reveals how art in the urban public space generates encounters that can transform both the city itself and the ways that people relate to it. Contributors include Alison Bain (York University), Robert Bean (NSCAD University), Lawrence Bird (architect, artist), Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier (University of Victoria), Brenden Harvey (Dalhousie University), Wes Johnston (artist, curator), Léola Le Blanc (media artist), Brian Lilley (Dalhousie University), Barbara Lounder (NSCAD University), Mary Elizabeth Luka (York University), Sebastian Matthias (HafenCityUniversity), Christof Migone (Western University), Ellen Moffat (media artist), Kim Morgan (NSCAD University), Solomon Nagler (NSCAD University), Martha Radice (Dalhousie University), Nicole Rallis (McMaster University), Susanne Shawyer (Elon University), Shannon Turner (Aarhus University), Laurent Vernet (INRS Urbanisation Culture Société), and Nick Wees (University of Victoria).

Featuring more than 500 public art installations, this is the first comprehensive guidebook to explore Vancouver's urban treasures. The character of a city is revealed by the public art that neighborhoods and residents collectively place on streets and walls and in their public spaces. As a city known internationally for its breathtaking cityscapes and mountain backdrop, Vancouver has much to offer visually including the diverse and thriving public art in the city's neighborhoods. Engaging color photos and detailed descriptions that focus on the historical and cultural context of each art piece, its place in modern art and the artist who created it allow for a greater understanding of these urban treasures. Easy-to follow maps take readers to communities and destinations such as False Creek, Chinatown, the West End, Downtown, East Vancouver, VanDusen Garden, Stanley Park and the University of British Columbia. Tour the better known and the unknown art installations that are made from every possible media and include monuments, paintings, murals, tapestries, figures, First Nations art, relics, busts, fountains, gateways, mosaics, sculptures and reliefs.