Tak zwana sztuka publiczna (w Polsce)

Abstract

The article focuses on public art in Poland. It explores the reasons behind its popularity such as, for instance, modernization of the state which speeded up when Poland joined the European Union. We are currently observing rapid development of cities and rivalry between them that has also spread to the field of culture. Public art has become a tool in this rivalry. There are more reasons for today’s demand for this kind of art, starting from the tradition of artistic life in the People’s Republic of Poland (open-air sessions, events involving cooperation between artists and scientists, sculpture parks), via various street-related subcultures (happenings in the 1980s, street art, graffiti), urban activism, e.g. actions against the abundance of advertising in public space or the residents’ struggle for better quality of everyday life, via art being treated as a marketing tool by politicians, to contemporary discussions about the shape of democracy, public debate, the right to free speech and the political nature of art. The text also emphasizes the diversity of form typical of public art (e.g. monuments, politics-related activities, arts education and efforts towards social change). The article cites the most significant opinions and attempts at defining public art in Poland by such authors as Rosalyn Deutsche, Piotr Piotrowski, Joanna Erbel and Kuba Szreder. It shows a variety of concepts, including the most radical one – art as such is public, therefore the idea of public art as a separate phenomenon is fundamentally flawed. The final section of the article is devoted to the discussion of selected instances of public art (Joanna Rajkowska’s Greetings from Jerusalem Avenue, Julita Wójcik’s Rainbow, Arek Pasożyt’s Painting Workshop “Not to Reject”), their functioning in urban space, social space as well as public debate.