Art situated in publicly accessible spaces, including monuments, memorials, and site-specific sculpture, falls under the rubric of public art. Public art has many functions: it can bring beauty to a particular site, memorialize wars or tragic events, honor historical figures, or spread a political message. Governments and civic organizations have featured works of art in the public sphere for many centuries. Dating to 113 CE, Trajan’s Column in Rome is an early example of a war monument. The relief carvings spiraling around the structure recount the events of two recent wars and celebrate the Roman victors.

Many cities have programs through which they commission works of public art. Notably, Chicago’s percent-for-art program requires a small amount of the cost of building or renovating municipal structures be set aside for original artwork on the premises. Through this program, the city has purchased hundreds of works of public art, including Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate (2006) in Millennium Park. This monumental, reflective sculpture has become among the most prominent tourist destinations in the city. Like many works of public art, Cloud Gate is site-specific, meaning it was made explicitly for the location it occupies, and it interacts with the surrounding park in interesting and intentional ways. London also has an innovative system for commissioning public art through its Fourth Plinth program. Originally intended to house an equestrian monument, the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square sat empty for over a century. Since 1998, the office of the Mayor of London has selected artists to create temporary works to sit atop the plinth. These striking contemporary works are juxtaposed with the historical war memorials that fill the rest of the Square. The project has hosted works by Antony Gormley, Rachel Whiteread, Hans Haacke, Yinka Shonibare, Katharina Fritsch, among others.