Public art: the pages of history. The search for the synthesis of sculpture and architecture in the British art of the second half of the XX century

Abstract

The article discusses the problems associated with the deployment of British sculpture of the second half of the XX century in the public space. In the context of the use of sculpture in the urban space, the author concluded that the examples of this trend are generally further development of the old tradition of urban sculpture. In the 1960s, the trend of implementing a modern sculpture in the urban environment was at its height, and then there was revealed a lack of new public sculpture that is adequate to its location in society where there is no obvious dictates of the state or religious ideas. On the other hand, the British urban sculpture, in contrast to the pompous American version (plaza art), was closer to the individual human space. The formed type of urban space as an art gallery is a clear advance in this field. Sculpture of that time in most cases had no architectonic features required to be included in the architectural environment. However, the 1970s initiated a process that was different from the synthesis system sought by the artists of the older generation. Since that time, the concept of sculpture changes, enriched by the variability of its form, and one of the new versions of sculpture is “sculpture-architecture”. In search for harmonious inclusion of sculpture in space environment, Britain of the second half of XX century adopted the most fruitful way to solve this problem as the synthesis of sculpture and natural space.

Keywords:

public art, public sculpture, urban sculpture, modern sculpture, contemporary sculpture, British sculpture, monumental sculpture, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Jacob Epstein, Geoffrey Clarke