Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 01/09/2025

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that the public sphere consisted of individuals not aligned by social or political status. Consequently, critics such as Nancy Fraser (1993) suggested that the Habermas model was not only an unrealistic utopian construct but also "a masculinist ideological notion that functioned to legitimate an emergent form of class rule." (as cited in Doss 1995, p. 16) Habermas' idealized model of the public was content with a consensus of the status quo, consisting of a ruling class of white, well-educated men, and by necessity, excluding the considerations of women, the working class and various racial and ethnic groups. These groups provided an inherent conflict to the public sphere model and were not a voice that was recognized by the Habermas model. Likewise, the public process of creating and implementing public art contains only slices of the public to a greater or lesser degree. When a group of individuals completes a public process, an excluded interest group might suddenly appear, and bring unexpected criticism. Wright (1994) the editor of Public Art Review describes the public sphere as a neutral zone, neither influenced by the government nor by the private entities, in which there is a free flow of ideas in an ongoing debate. Contemporary scholars base the public definition on the broad tenant of democracy that public participation includes a diverse plurality of people whose speaking and actions creates equality. Arndt (1958) envisioned a public realm that has people coming together to create a single reality. This reality is based upon communication and relationships built among and between all people. The definition of public in regard to public art has also expanded with society's greater awareness of cultural issues. In the United States, the white Christian European dominance defined public art until relatively recently because of the relative exclusivity of the art world and the social-political institutions that supported art. For centuries, religion was the dominant factor in culture, and hence, religious influence manifested itself in artwork, both public and private. It 31