Thesis
Moving beyond environmental sustainability toward eco-social practice: public art in Southern California
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Nov 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001223
Abstract
Public art experts over the past decade have urged public art programs to adopt environmentally sustainable standards in their best practices. However, this urging has often been a one-dimension effort and regularly disregards the practice of social equity in tangent. A move beyond environmental sustainability toward eco-social practice is then imperative. This study examines three public artworks in Southern California created for green building capital projects through percent-for-art ordinances within the past decade by three separate governing agencies. By looking at a robust set of artwork details like the materials used, locality of artists, community inclusion, access to artworks, and conditions of public art sites, in addition to policy and decision-maker values, research begins to illustrate if and how transitions toward eco-social practice are occurring. In-situ observations, secondary sources, and interviews with public art administrators and public art consultants helped to triangulate the collected data. Overall, two of the three public artworks studied showed signs of transition toward eco-social practice. Public artworks that required collaborative teams of local artists, fabricators, community members, engineers, architects, and arts managers were most successfully categorized as eco-social. Additionally, the vision of arts managers who viewed capital projects as opportunities for environmentally sustainable public art, who support ideas of community engagement, was also essential. These findings suggest that while there is a strong push for environmental sustainability, public art workers can and should advocate for more holistic goals. Tackling environmental issues like air quality for surrounding communities, using materials that are healthy for artists and part of local economic streams, and co-producing artworks with stakeholders are all possible for public artworks to do, as these case studies show.
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Details
- Title
- Moving beyond environmental sustainability toward eco-social practice
- Creators
- Meghan Nicole Pursell
- Contributors
- Pamela Yau (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vii, 73 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Arts Administration; Arts and Entertainment Enterprise; Drexel University; Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
- Other Identifier
- 991014833049404721