Œuvres à la rue : pratiques et discours émergents en art public

Edited by: Annie Gérin, Yves Bergeron, Dominic Hardy, Gilles Lapointe, Louise Déry

Authors: Yves Bergeron, Francine Couture, Louise Déry, Marie Fraser, Annie Gérin, Dominic Hardy, Gilles Lapointe, Vincent Lavoie, Patrice Loubier, Jocelyne Lupien, Thérèse St-Gelais, Jean-Philippe Uzel

How does public art relate to its environment and the Montreal community? The concept of public art refers to permanent or ephemeral artworks designed to be integrated into – or deployed in – public spaces, natural sites, buildings or structures through a development planning or community involvement process that can entail the participation of artists, citizens, architects and urban planners. Today, this presents special challenges: the conservation of permanent artworks requires rethinking in many cases, and the questions of re-siting, ephemeral art in urban areas and monument appropriation reflect changing ties between art and public space in the community. The articles grouped here stem from essential debate about these issues in the specific context of Montreal. They were presented at the symposium Œuvres à la rue : pratiques et discours émergents en art public, held at Galerie de l’UQAM. The publication includes illustrations of the works of Pierre Ayot, Francis Alÿs, Gilbert Boyer, Alfredo Jaar, Les Fermières Obsédées, Christian Frei, Maclean, Jean-Paul Riopelle and Karen Elaine Spencer.