with little more than a Facebook event invite . From flash mobs to DIY bike lanes , social media is now enabling new , unexpected sources of creative production to connect to vast audiences .
Beyond municipal agencies and artists , corporations are now in the business of presenting creative expression in the public realm . Guerrilla marketing tools employed by commercial brands draw on the cultural capital of street artists , videographers , and performers . While the purpose behind these expressions is entirely at odds with , say , a community mural , they appear homologous to grassroots interventions . Public-private partnerships , which pair public-realm projects with private-sector patrons , are further nuancing this trend . One of the insights of the Chicago Cultural Plan ( kudos to Julie Burros , whose piece begins on page 42 ) was that consumers of culture are indifferent to the source of programming . As it turns out , people consume corporate-sponsored concerts in the same way that they consume non-profit theater .
From lasting to liberating
The pace of everything is quickening . Demographic trends , technological innovation , fashion and music , and even ostensibly timeless human values are obsolete the moment they are articulated . Global transit networks shorten lead times , social media expedites the consumption of information , and digital manufacturing , such as 3D printing and laser cutting , expand the possibilities of form making . Our ability to make ideas tangible , at a record pace , allows for more democratic experimentation and iteration . Amid this rush , public art no longer has to wear the patina of permanence . Now , a focus on temporary , pop-up installations is freeing new forms of expression in unlikely places . If nothing is meant to last forever , why bother trying ?
Since temporary work is often seen as less risky , it can , paradoxically , take on more risk . Bolder , more adventurous and subversive art can slip through municipal regulations and public censorship when its life is short . When Philip worked on an installation that wrapped a downtown Chicago intersection entirely in color , a coalition of property owners , tenants , city
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