Introduction to Public Art

Abstract

The chapter Introduction to Public Art is divided into three parts. It starts with a general introduction to public art, then continues with the topic of Public Art in Berlin through the 20th century, and ends with the section Public Art in Berlin as a joint task of transparency and democracy, written by Martin Schonfeld from the Office for Art in Public Space Berlin explaining the role of the Office. The introduction to public art emphasizes the importance of its role in urban design in many contemporary Western countries, as well as its role in the creation of the recognizable identity of a city. Issues relating to the ideas and forms of public urban art in Berlin have actually gone beyond the local framework given in the title, and they can be considered to include general issues related to this type of creativity. Also, one of the aims of public art is to engage the public in the community or provoke endless polemics. Both can be seen in Berlin. Berlin has become one of the most attractive global cities, and public art can help it to keep that role in the future and further attract tourists to the public space in the city. Thus, public art could have an even bigger role in the identity and branding of Berlin and might become an even more relevant factor for the city’s development in the future.