Gone? But not forgotten
Public art was once simply sculpture. It included anything from the monumental bronzes of sovereigns and soldiers visible in every city, to the modernist sculptures that have, at times, ruffled urban feathers. The best known of these in Australia is perhaps Ron Robertson-Swann’s Vault (1978), a large, steel, minimalist abstraction in Melbourne that became popularly know as the ‘Yellow Peril’.1 Yet, from 1961, sculpture prizes like the Mildura Sculpture Triennial (until 1988), and more recent iterations, such as the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award (2000–2008), saw the notion of sculpture develop from three-dimensional artwork that could be ‘plonked’ into any landscape, into sculpture as an element intrinsic to a place or space. This also allowed sculpture to be utilised in the amelioration and beautification of place and has seen public art become a highly anticipated part of civic life.
In Queensland, the art for public places initiative was seized in the late 1990s. The incoming Beattie Labor Government and Arts Minister Matt Foley (with Lindy Johnson as his Senior Policy Adviser) embraced a bold ‘per cent for art program’ in public buildings from mid-1999.2 In the thirteen years between then and the change of policy that came with the election of the Newman Liberal National Party Government in 2012, art became an intrinsic part of new government buildings.
While this change may also reflect the increasingly immersive or transformative nature of contemporary art in general, over this period public expectations and interest have seen public art evolve into a central element in urban development.
Yet in 2012, the public art journey, and Queensland’s role as a leader in this sphere, ended abruptly. Three public art experiences were completed and launched... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline
Yayoi Kusama, Eyes are Singing Out, 2012. Steel, enamel. Photograph John Gollings.
Gemma Smith, Collision and Improvisation (Ceiling), 2012. Acrylic paint. Photograph John Gollings.
