The city as a public space. Quite an overstated phrase, isn’t it? But it keeps occupying people’s minds. Why? Cities have become the second nature for most of us – citizens. Cities are spaces where we are born, where we live, where we die. Our lives are shaped by the cities we live in. Citizens are the ‘users’ of the city, yet much too often, their influence, their voice in shaping the city is minimal. The city is all sliced up into little pieces of privately owned land. Yes, there is a city council, there is an urban plan. But the city mayors can be hardly seen as independent decision makers. In the worst case, decisions are approved according to economic power of influencers. In the best case, decisions reflect the political and socioeconomic relationships of the time (which of course include the first category as well).
Antoni Muntadas in an artist whose main topic is the city with its social, economic and historical power relationships. As a part of the ‘City as Stage, City as Process’ lecture series at MIT Visual Arts, Muntadas gave this lecture, starting with setting a historical context, introducing a series of his own words and finishing with an interesting discussion.
I must say it was the answers to the open questions raised in the end of the lecture convinced me of body of work Muntadas did. I also liked his answer to the question what feedback he gets, comparing the difference of the gallery space and public space. Public space project are mainly process (project) focused, and it is the way of reaching the goal and the change in passers-by perception which are important. Yet none of these variables can be measured in terms of ‘success’ or ‘visitor reaction’. While the artwork is ‘public’ the reactions are probably more private than in the case of a gallery piece.
http://techtv.mit.edu/videos/4278-antoni-muntadas—public-city