Public Art Versus Public Advertising

I think this image serves as a perfect example of how art imagery and advertising imagery affect us differently in our shared public spaces. If you would, imagine walking down the street and seeing Felix Gonzalez Torres' Untitled image towering above you. Then imagine the advertising image below, and your reactions to both. One asks you to concentrate your attentions on very specific commercial concerns, whereas the other asks you to contemplate ideas about your life and your relationship to the city around you. Clearly the more healthy thought process is the one that opens your perceptions as opposed to controlling them. And why wouldn't we demand a public visual space that is as healthy for our population as possible?

Labels: New York, Other Artists, public advertising, public art, random thoughts
1 Comments:
This just reminded me of that ad at 42nd st, in the passage from 8th ave to 7th ave, where they have that ad that starts out with written messages on the beams on the ceiling of the passageway and ends with a picture of a bed...
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