Vickery, Jonathan. (2011) Art, public authorship and the possibility of re-democratization. Visual Culture in Britain, Vol.12 (No.2). pp. 219-235. ISSN 1471-4787

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Abstract

The subject of this study is a large public art project by German artist Jochen Gerz, which was part of the urban regeneration program The Phoenix Initiative in Coventry City, 1999-2004. The study presents a short historical backdrop to Gerz’s work by way of defining ‘public authorship’ of which the Coventry project is one example. It extends the literature on contemporary countermonument by assessing Gerz’s artistic strategy in using a monument to exploring the conditions of public culture and possible shape of a cultural public sphere in the contemporary city. The public art project lasted over five years and was a mechanism by which the political issues at stake in the public life of Coventry, particularly the socio-historic conflicts that are constitutive of its civic identity, were articulated. The study argues that public authorship succeeded in identifying some crucial coordinates in the political constitution of public culture in Coventry, but in the face of competing civic rhetoric and new urban policy initiatives, the project remains an open inquiry. This study concludes by identifying some critical lines of inquiry for future studies in art’s critical role in the public sphere.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts > Theatre, Performance and Cultural Policy Studies > Centre for Cultural Policy Studies
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Public art -- England -- Coventry, Gerz, Jochen -- Criticism and interpretation, Coventry (England) -- Politics and government -- 21st century, Coventry (England) -- Civilization -- 21st century
Journal or Publication Title:	Visual Culture in Britain
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
ISSN:	1471-4787
Date:	6 July 2011
Volume:	Vol.12
Number:	No.2
Page Range:	pp. 219-235
Identification Number:	10.1080/14714787.2011.575296
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/38844

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