JOYCE POMEROY SCHWARTZ

THE PRIVATE EYE IN PUBLIC ART

BY JOYCE POMEROY SCHWARTZ

The history of public art begins with the cave paintings and sculptural glories of Greece and Rome; it also tells of neglect and destruction, from the ancient Bamyan sculptures to Penn Station.

The Private Eye in Public Art, by curator and art advisor Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz, brings the story up-to-date with a first-hand commentary about conceptual and land art made for public places.

The book is an indispensable guide to the perils, pains, and pleasures of making art for architecture, how people respond to that art, and how and why that reception may change over time. This book is for all who are involved in the creation, exhibition, and preservation of contemporary public art: artists, selection committees, scholars, students, art professionals, and the wider public.

Foreward by Eleanor Heartney | Published by ORO Editions

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“If I have one conviction, it is that the public deserves enduring art by our greatest artists. I believe public art should be museum quality, and the artist selection process should have excellence as its primary goal. Saying that, issues of time, space, community, and content are issues to be explored and considered only in the hands of the right artist for the right project."

JOYCE POMEROY SCHWARTZ
The Private Eye in Public Art

FEATURED PROJECTS

EXCERPT

“The monumental social, political, and cultural upheavals of the 1960s put a new face on the First Amendment, civil disobedience, and ownership of the public realm. Counter-culture artists of the 1960s and 1970s challenged the museum’s hegemony and its relevance to conceptual art.

Having moved beyond “art for art’s sake” into socially relevant, environmental and conceptual art, liberating themselves from the strictures of galleries and museums, and rejecting heroic art or art-as monument, artists claimed our country’s varied, vast, and powerful landscape. It captivated, inspired, and would define artists as distinctly American. Nature and grand spaces – the “god-made art” of white sand beaches, high deserts, Rocky Mountains, expansive prairies and forests – were fertile ground for the articulation of an American aesthetic.

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring launched an environmental awakening, shining a light on the powerful – and sadly, often negative – impact human beings have on the natural world. Finding inspiration for both form and content in the physical character, archaeology, and socio-historic context of a site, and in many cases, in reverence for the grandeur of the Western frontier, artists followed suit, dramatizing our collective obligation to preserve limited resources and safeguard the future of our planet.

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt were great champions of reclamation art and earthworks. Their appreciation of natural wonders, awareness of their potential devastation by industry, and critique of the thoughtless misuse of American resources brought artists and scientists together in common cause. Smithson said: “My own experience is that the best sites for ‘earth art’ are sites that have been disrupted by industry, reckless urbanization, or nature’s own devastation … The Spiral Jetty is built on a dead sea, and The Broken Circle Spiral Hill in a working sand quarry. Such land is cultivated or recycled.” Spiral Jetty became symbolic of this environmental consciousness: articulating a vision of the American landscape and transforming it into art, Smithson shined a light on both its richness and its vulnerability. And in the Utah desert, artist Nancy Holt, created Sun Tunnels, a paean to the power of the sun and stars.”

THE PRIVATE EYE IN PUBLIC ART
Excerpt from pp. 46-47

The Private Eye in Public Art - Nancy Holt - Sun Tunnels

NANCY HOLT, 1976

The Private Eye in Public Art - Louise Nevelson - Bicentennial Dawn

LOUISE NEVELSON, 1976

ADVANCE PRAISE

“The indefatigable Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz, working as the Pace Gallery’s Director of Commissions, saw through from inception to conclusion some of the largest art commissions in the most expansive period of public sculpture.”

ARNE GLIMCHER
Founder, Pace Gallery
“Few people know more about public art in the United States, and fewer have done more than Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz to ensure great artists were given important opportunities to create around the nation.”

ANNE PASTERNAK
Director, Brooklyn Museum
“Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz has written an extensive and highly laudable book about public art - a book long missing from the field, a book for artists and workers and all interested. It covers the perils, challenges and successes she and others have dealt with for many years.”

MARY BEEBE
Director, UC San Diego's Stuart Collection
“Looking backward and forward, Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz’s extraordinarily comprehensive and sumptuously produced account of public art and her substantial role in its creation and placement is a revelation. Her relentless energy and vision has enhanced public space and given an opportunity for sculpture to reach its broadest public.”

PATTERSON SIMS
President of the Board, Independent Curators International
"The Godmother of Public Art, visionary arts consultant Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz has been charting its course for more than seven decades. A Private Eye in Public Art offers valuable insight into the world of public art and is a must-read for arts administrators and artists who contemplate entering the public realm and for all aficionados of public art going forward. Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz doesn’t just give us a glimpse of her role in shaping the course of public art, she throws the door wide open and lets us understand what she did and why."

SANDRA BLOODWORTH
Sandra Bloodworth, Director, MTA Arts & Design
“This book is the first thorough historical review of a wide array of works by major artists, connecting public art to an art audience, exploring different issues at hand when working outside of the gallery walls.”

ALICE AYCOCK
Artist
“This book is a fine addition to the study of private initiative in favor of public art. Art lovers will enjoy this vibrant exploration of creativity in all kinds of public space.”

DR. GUILIANO GORI
Fattoria di Celle
"Joyce’s first completed public art project was my first completed public art project, for the San Francisco Airport - and there’s nothing like first love! What a great pleasure it was, working together back in 1983, figuring out the moves and cast of characters in challenging situations that were new to us. I was truly fortunate to embark on this adventure with the other Joyce, who shepherded be through, from beginning to end."

JOYCE KOZLOFF
Artist
"A Private Eye in Public Art is an excellent survey of public art with detailed discussion of the aesthetic and intellectual impact of these public commissions. This survey is written from the viewpoint and extraordinary experience of one of the leading art consultants. This volume is an indispensable addition to any art library for reference or just the joy of looking at the beautiful photographs in a splendid overview. This book is highly recommended for all interested in our built environment and the art which makes it extraordinary.”

DAVID HANKS
Art Advisor
"Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz has been a committed proponent of public art for decades, observing and engaging the field with deep insight and discerning judgment. There is no person who has a better overview of the most important works in this period and how public art has continuously evolved over the past 50 years."

GARY GARRELS
Art Historian
"Public art is not new. It is as old as art itself. But with the 20th century dominance of museums and the commercial gallery market, it had been sleeping as a major pursuit for artists. Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz is one of the guiding lights of the generation that woke the field up and energized artists to get back into direct contact with audiences in public space. I cannot wait to read her account of this important contribution to our cities."

TOM FINKLEPEARL
Former Commissioner, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
"I have known Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz since my early days at The New York Times. Her thought-provoking book delves into the rich history and contemporary practices of public art, from iconic sculptures to vibrant murals. Joyce offers a captivating exploration of how public art can enrich our communities, ignite dialogue and inspire change."

HOLLY CARTER
Founder and Executive Director, BYkids
"I have known Joyce for a long time — since 1972, when there was a glass ceiling for working women — but not for Joyce. She joined the Pace Gallery as Director of Commissions, helping artists realize their works of public art — and cracked her way through that ceiling. When I founded ArtTable, the leadership organization for professional women in the visual arts, Joyce came aboard, and to this day she is a member of that team."

LILA HARNETT
Founder, ArtTable
"A remarkable portrait of the unprecedented explosion of public art in America by a pioneering figure who brought celebrated artists, architects and civic planners together.”

CAROL MORGAN
Art Book Publishing Executive
"Joyce’s passion for public art starts with her heart and head in the clouds but she brings the results to celebrate artists, people & art strongly on Mother Earth!"

TSIPI BEN-HAIM
Founder, Executive & Creative Director at CITYarts, Inc.
"The Private Eye in Public Art is must read for educators and students alike. As Schwartz has demonstrated throughout her career, collaborative communication and professional integrity are two of the key ingredients in successful cultivation of artistic expression in public spaces. She suggests that through thoughtful conversation and dedicated education, a community can be brought together and their enduring identity can be forged through works of public art."

DAVID JAMES & JORDEN DOODY
Lecturers Mural Painting & Public Art, MFA, BFA, University of British Columbia

THE PRIVATE EYE IN PUBLIC ART

BY JOYCE POMEROY SCHWARTZ

FEATURED PROJECTS

EXCERPT

“The indefatigable Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz, working as the Pace Gallery’s Director of Commissions, saw through from inception to conclusion some of the largest art commissions in the most expansive period of public sculpture.”

“Few people know more about public art in the United States, and fewer have done more than Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz to ensure great artists were given important opportunities to create around the nation.”

“Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz has written an extensive and highly laudable book about public art - a book long missing from the field, a book for artists and workers and all interested. It covers the perils, challenges and successes she and others have dealt with for many years.”

“This book is the first thorough historical review of a wide array of works by major artists, connecting public art to an art audience, exploring different issues at hand when working outside of the gallery walls.”

“This book is a fine addition to the study of private initiative in favor of public art. Art lovers will enjoy this vibrant exploration of creativity in all kinds of public space.”

"A remarkable portrait of the unprecedented explosion of public art in America by a pioneering figure who brought celebrated artists, architects and civic planners together.”

"Joyce’s passion for public art starts with her heart and head in the clouds but she brings the results to celebrate artists, people & art strongly on Mother Earth!"

THE PRIVATE EYE IN PUBLIC ART