Lets take a trip back to elementary school art class and remind ourselves of some simple concepts. Art is the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. Public art is any media that has been created and implemented with the purpose of being seen in the physical public domain. Public arts importance lies in its purpose, location and message it conveys. The quality or impact of art is subjective based upon the personal tastes, biases and culture of the viewer. While there are some public art installations that are interesting because of proportion, as in The Spire of Dublin, or because of meaning, as in Richmonds Slavery Reconciliation Statue that has twins in Benin and Liverpool, there are others that make the average person wonder. They wonder if they missed the point. They wonder if theyre intentionally odd. They wonder if the artist was on drugs. This is an article of peculiar public art that gives people the creeps. Some of these installations are beautiful in a haunting, Helena Bonham Carter way. Others are appealing because of sheer shock value and all are of more than ordinary significance. Bringing together Masonic imagery, infanticide, eroticism, and ghoulish countenances, these public art displays should only be viewed in the daylight.
