The time when art was thought able to intervene in the public sphere has gone.  Whether because of the visual arts’ reification or commodification in the so-called “art world,” because of the rise of self-aware visual noise in everyday life, or simply because of the fragmenting or dissolution of what could be called the “public,” the end result is the same:  for the visual arts to be relevant or powerful in modern society, they must become dialogic devices that interact with and are guided by their intended audience.  Self-reflexivity or aggressive posturing are not enough; they must place both themselves and their participants in situations that blur all boundaries between public and private, expressed and discovered, authored and quoted.  By charting influential public art practices and their failures, as well as public art that avoids or successfully navigates the most common pitfalls of visual art, we can begin to get an idea of how the arts can begin to play a more fluid, adaptable, and critical counterpoint to contemporary society.  The impact of such pieces as Temporary Services’ Public Sculpture Opinion Poll and Prisoner’s Inventions can best be seen by first examining the successes and failures of modern artists (Richard Serra’s Titled Arc), performance artists (Fluxus in its various forms), and community artists (Suzanne Lacy).  By understanding the intricacies of Temporary Services’ projects within a larger context of public interaction, it is possible to formulate an idea of the public based not on data or ideology, but on processes of communication themselves.

Presented at Crossroads in Cultural Studies, Champaign IL, June 2004