Clearly, public art is not public just because it is out of doors... it is public because... of the kinds of questions it chooses to ask or address... *
Centenary of Federation Monument 2001. Intersection of Vale and Barrack Streets, Cooma.
For a smallish town, Cooma - in the southeast of NSW, 120km south of Canberra and an equally convenient 120km from the coast - is positively bristling with monuments and public art. This will be an occasional blog series where I ponder on this matter. The role of monuments in public places is interesting. Why are they erected? Who (if anyone) looks at them? What do they add to their locations or to the town? How successful are they artistically and for the community and visitors? Do they educate?
These matters and more will be discussed in a very slow virtual, art critical tour of the megalopolis of Cooma.
*Patricia C. PhillipsTemporality and Public Art. Art Journal, Vol. 48, No. 4, Critical Issues in Public Art (Winter, 1989), pp. 331-335
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