Lawrence Argent's I See What You Mean was created specifically for the Denver Convention Center. The artwork interaction with the architecture, it's scale and the reference to the local fauna makes it a great example of site-specific public art.
The Virgin Mother by Damien Hirst is a large provocative sculpture seen here in the Lever House exterior courtyard in NYC. This artwork was not created for that courtyard and is as appropriate in a gallery or museum as it is outside. This is a great example of Art in Public Spaces.
When most people thing about public art, they think of murals on exterior walls or sculptures in courtyards and street corners. Although these can be forms of public art, the truth of the matter is public art can take many forms. Even non-traditional art forms. But before I continue, I want to make a distinction between Public Art and Art in Public Places. Merely placing a sculpture outside to be enjoyed by the public does not necessarily make it public art. It becomes public art when that sculpture is created specifically for that space and takes into account the unique aspects of the surrounding environment (history, location, architecture, audience, to mention a few). In other words the difference between Public Art and Art in Public Places is site-specificity. It is not to say that one is more important than the other, I just wanted to be clear what I meant when I use the words public art.
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