At a recent art conference in St. Louis, my husband Russ and I participated in discussions covering the history of the Cahokia Mounds and Gateway Arch Jefferson National Expansion Memorial to present-day monuments, memorials and public art.
During the three-day Sculpture City Saint Louis 2014 Monument/Anti-Monument conference, a theme developed: A monolithic approach to public art is often not able to express or satisfy the variety of views and experiences of diverse populations that make up contemporary cities.
Public art has become a multidisciplinary field, often incorporating transient or participatory elements. Contemporary artists are working in creative collaborations to revitalize their communities with projects such as the Music Box in New Orleans, a town of tiny musical houses made from salvaged wood on a vacant lot. In Pittsburgh, the Waffle House combined a working restaurant with studio space for visitors to create their own live television talk shows. The Fourth Plinth is a series of temporary art installations on a historical pedestal in Trafalgar Square, one of many arts and culture programs funded by the mayor of London.
The conference concluded with guided tours, and we chose North St. Louis. Led by architectural historian Michael R. Allen of the Preservation Research Office, we explored blocks of deteriorating red brick townhouses, sprinkled with some restoration and redevelopment efforts and many lots left vacant from demolished or burned buildings. A few open blocks are being used for urban farming to grow corn and soybeans. The 57-acre Pruitt-Igoe site of failed public housing built in the 1950s and demolished in the 1970s has become an urban forest.
A small bright spot is Northside Workshop created by artist Juan William Chavez.
Chavez raises bees in an urban garden, combining education about beekeeping, gardening and cooking with art and music workshops for North St. Louis youth. Likening the colony-collapse disorder of bees to the demise of North St. Louis, Chavez says cities need creative strategies to survive, and he proposed a bee sanctuary for the Pruitt-Igoe Now reimagining competition.
Confounded by the size and complexity of problems of North St. Louis, I am glad to be living in Springfield. In a series of community presentations about the book, “For the Love of Cities,” Springfield City Manager Greg Burris cites author Peter Kageyama’s belief that Springfield exists in a sweet spot of population and size. It’s small enough for individuals to feel they can make a difference and big enough to offer many amenities urbanites crave. Burris says Kageyama’s term “co-creators” defines entrepreneurs, activists, artists, organizers and residents who help make a city livable and lovable.
On our return, I was surprised to see a proposed urban beekeeping ordinance as headline news. I’m happy the city of Springfield is encouraging co-creators to explore new community-building projects, and the arts can be part of a portfolio of creative strategies to bring together diverse communities and reinvigorate our urban spaces.
Public art projects profiled at the Monuments conference confirm my feeling Springfield is on target with yarn-bombing and temporary pallet construction at the Springfield Art Museum and experimental installation art at the ideaXfactory, a collaboration between the city of Springfield and the Springfield Regional Arts Council that was awarded a 2013–14 ArtPlace America grant.
Multiple collaborators will work together again to create live art at Artsfest on May 3–4 to pair locally written Stories on the Street with live painters on Historic Walnut Street.
Pam RuBert is past president of the Springfield Regional Arts Council. She can be reached at pam@rubert.com.[[In-content Ad]]
