Artists reclaim the commons

Percent-for-art commissions may represent the official, professionalized face of public art, but beyond the plaza--in neighborhoods, back streets, and vacant lots; in suburban hinterlands, rural villages, and remote virtual realms--another kind of art has been taking shape, one that questions the very nature and experience of the commons. Driven by artists, curators, and nonprofit organizations, these independent projects treat public space as more than an outdoor gallery. Whether temporary or permanent, guerrilla or sanctioned, object or action, such works invite us to imagine alternative ways of seeing and being while opening up new possibilities for individual and collective consciousness. When we enter their domain, public space becomes a site of resistance, a stage on which to enact experimental scenarios, and a catalyst for action--a place of both art and life.