Art originates from life but transcends it. It is closely related to public life. In particular, public art is common to people, but many familiar sculptures are not necessarily understood by people. Professor Ding Ning from the School of Arts of Peking University brought two wonderful art feasts to the citizens on March 16 and 17: “Museums Without Walls - A Glimpse of Foreign Public Art (I and II)”.
Professor Ding said: “In ancient times, public art actually reached its peak, such as Stonehenge in England, Easter Island Sculpture in Chile and Parthenon Temple in Greece. These ancient public arts are the achievements of the whole clan and the creation for the whole society. Perhaps according to today’s standards, they cannot be regarded as the masterpieces of skillful craftsmen. However, under the social and natural conditions at that time, their creativity and vision are venerable for modern people. Therefore, public art cannot be simply defined as ‘the art that embodies the fullest will of citizens in a modern democratic society’, but shall reflect the height of history. If public art cuts off history, there will be no source and tradition will be abandoned and underestimated.”
“From the perspective of modern urban public art, public art has become a part of people’s daily spiritual life. It provides unique connotation to the urban spiritual space and is an inseparable symbol of a city. For instance, one of the most famous examples in public art is the Little Mermaid statue on the Copenhagen coast of Denmark. During the Shanghai World Expo, the mermaid was transported to the Denmark Pavilion. When she was to be transported away from Long Beach National Park, many Danes wept for it. When the mermaid returned home, Danes were unanimous that the mermaid would no longer ‘go out of Denmark’. This collective sentiment to the mermaid statue is the charm of urban public art.”
Professor Ding explained profound theories in simple language. Based on sculptures in different places, Professor Ding told the social and guiding significance of art in public space. It is not only a feast of vision and audition, but also the purification and sublimation of life. In the Q&A section at the end of the lecture, the audience talked about their thoughts on how to set up sculpture in public space in Guizhou, and put forward the hope of building Guizhou into a cultural holy land with artistic flavor.
An art-lover said: “These sculptures reflect a nation’s culture and spirit from different angles. Any nation shall have its own unique spiritual sustenance.”
Duan, a graduate student majoring in Civil and Commercial Law at Guizhou University, particularly brought the computer to record the whole lecture. Duan said: “I study the Cultural Heritage Law. I think public art has important spiritual value and personality significance for the country, society and nation. Protecting public art effectively means protecting and remembering history, so we shall constantly improve legal provisions on the protection of public art.”
