[csaa-forum] Fw: Call for Papers: The Uses of Art in Public Space

[Ruth Fazakerley]

Dr Ruth Fazakerley | Postdoctoral Research Officer 
School of Architecture & Design | RMIT University, GPO Box 2476 Melbourne VIC 3001 Australia  
Location: Bldg 97 Level 3 Room 1, City campus | t: +61 3 9925 4507 | e: ruth.fazakerley at rmit.edu.au

 
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Call for Papers Double Conference Session: The Uses of Art in Public Space Chairs: Julia Lossau & Quentin Stevens International Geographical Congress 
Cologne, Germany
26-30 August 2012 http://www.igc2012.org (See Calls - Commissions and Task Forces - Stream C08.07 Cultural Approach in Geography) 
With the emergence of public art as a distinct form of art practice in
the late 1960s, and the subsequent explosion in its varieties of medium,
form and location, geographers began examining the complex spatialities
of public art’s conception, production and reception. This interest
has intensified through the cultural turn in the social sciences, the
increased interest in utilizing qualitative data and methods, and in
particular through the strong links established both theoretically and
empirically between art and urban gentrification. Another strong
thematic link between public art and geographical research agendas is
the ways that these artworks might connect to memory and sense of place.
The vast majority of existing research into public art has focused on
the aesthetic, cultural and political intentions and processes which
shape its production. The art object is often viewed in terms of an
instrumental or symbolic role within a particular ideologically-driven
activity, such as affirming class or ethnic distinctions, or assisting
city marketing and gentrification. What remains relatively understudied
is how various kinds of public art are actually received by the public,
and the material landscape within which that reception occurs. Much
analysis dwells on theoretical discussion of the potential
representational capacities of artworks as texts, with too little
empirical analysis of their actual ‘use’, which may not be
discursive, and which may not be as the artist or sponsor intended. The
aim of this session is to examine various geographical aspects of public
artworks from the perspective of their everyday use. We take public art
in a broad sense to include commissioned and unofficial artworks,
memorials, street art, advertising, and street furniture. We are
interested in the rich diversity of people’s engagements with public
artworks across various temporal and spatial scales. We particularly
encourage the submission of papers which explore the following themes: ●  different modes of use of public artworks: passive, active and
interventionist; through the various senses
●  different understandings of use within the overall development
process for public art: its conception, funding, procurement,
development, construction, unveiling,   and aftercare. Does the public only ‘use’ public artworks as
finished products?
●  conflicts between everyday practices around public art and the
expectations of designers, sponsors and site managers
●  the encouragement or management of specific user behaviors around
public artworks
●  how everyday practices around public artworks relate to their
meaning, history and their modes of representation
●  how these practices vary according to specific social factors such
as gender, age, and cultural background
●  how notions of ‘use’ and ‘mis-use’ can be conceptualised
convincingly in the case of art, which is typically defined in
opposition to practical utility Abstracts are to be submitted directly through the Congress website by 15 December 2011,  but the chairs welcome correspondence about potential contributions in advance of formal submission. 
Please contact: q.stevens at ucl.ac.uk -----------------------------------------------------
Dr Quentin Stevens Reader in Urban Design
Bartlett School of Planning
University College London Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow
School of Architecture and Design
RMIT University
Melbourne, Australia ----------------------------------------------------- 
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