D
uring its 33-year history, Creative Time has produced 313 public art projects involving 1,361 artists in New York City. This book, which is dense with text and photographs, both celebrates that achievement and assesses the current state of public art. Creative Time has dedicated itself to a concept of public art that is temporary and experimental rather than permanent and monumental. In the late 1970s, the group was known for taking over empty real estate, whether a building lobby or a landfill. In the 1980s, at a time of rising political activism, they were likely to insert art onto street corners, the sides of buses, milk cartons or takeout coffee cups. One project in 1993 took over all of 42nd Street before its final Disneyfication. In 2004 Creative Time deployed a team of artists to repaint the facades of businesses at Coney Island. The 21 contributors to this book include critics, curators, artists, novelists and the three people who have helmed the organization. Their essays and interviews offer an entertaining and sometimes nostalgic look at three decades of the New York art scene. The book will interest those involved with public art in cities nationwide. 275 color and 25 b&w illus. (May 1)
