PUBLIC ART REVIEW | VOL. 29 | ISSUE 57 | FORECASTPUBLICART.ORG
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TALK ABOUT AN EVOLUTION Looking back at 40 years of Forecast Public Art—and the changing field to which it belongs
IN 1976, I EARNED A BFA from the Minneapolis College of
Art and Design and, unlike many art graduates then and now, got a great job right away. I was hired by a CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) program, a one-year federal jobs program run by the visionary artist Melisande Charles that put 60 artists to work in communities. My job was to think of the city as a gallery and organize temporary exhibitions featuring CETA artists in public spaces like libraries, parks, and government buildings. My new gig was an official development of what was going on informally in those days: the alternative art-space movement was in full swing across the United States, including here in the Twin Cities. Pioneering artists were taking over abandoned warehouses, producing independent exhibits, installations, and events that crossed boundaries and challenged audiences. With my CETA job, I was able to foster this
spirit by connecting artists and art with public spaces and the public. I didn’t realize it then, but I’d found my calling. In 1978, when CETA funds ran dry, my commitment to public art went to a whole new level when a handful of colleagues and I started the nonprofit Forecast Public Art. We were one of the only groups in the country programming on streetscapes, in the open air, nurturing what you might call “free-range” artists. In those days, it was easy to install sculptures in a city park. The St. Paul Parks Department, I recall, didn’t have any rules. The only document I had to fill out was a picnic permit. “Just clean up after you’re done,” I was told. The field of contemporary public art was young and artists were eager to experiment, yet it was mostly about simply placing artworks in public places. Then along came conceptual artist Joseph Beuys, who coined the term social sculpture in the 1980s to signify his understanding of art’s potential
Photo courtesy Forecast Public Art.
BY JACK BECKER / Dedicated to my mentor, Melisande Charles
