Management of Aesthetic intentions in Urban Design -Artworks in Urban Public Space-

After World War II, Japan experienced a great political and social shift, which brought a concern of emerging public landscape in urban development. This paper analyses the management of the aesthetic intentions in urban design effort. We reviewed the development of various public installation of artworks concerning urban landscape aesthetics through its administrative process in chronological order. The monuments during the first decade marked a shift in emphasis from the militarism of the pre-war and wartime period to one of peace. However, some of the monuments and sculptures are not immune to controversy. This became an issue that could no be ignored by public officials whose responsibility was to place the sculptures while maintaining sensitivity to public opinion. As public administrators began to consider the possibility that sculptures may contribute to improving public amenities, the contextual concepts were basically ignored. Some of the programs in 1970s began to show more respect to the context, while other programs in this period expressed more interest in educational aspects of sculptures in the public spaces. Urban development projects also seek to introduce artworks integrated to their urban design concepts in 1990s. Generally, the administrators responsible for these programs were rarely trained in any relative field study other than public administration. Installing sculptures tended to be considered as part of public works projects on the level of urban planning and construction. The general public is basically removed from participating in the critical decisions that actually impact their lives in relation to the artworks. In conclusion, public art in japan has unique social and historic background both in its advantages and disadvantages. Issues pertaining to art in public spaces have evolved over the decades as the term "sculpture pollution" began to appear by the mid 1990s. most of the problems originated in either the lack of monumentality, contextual consideration, quality, or public participation. From another point of view, these programs played great roll in the development of modern Japanese sculpture and patronizing process, and the creation of new urban landscape with aesthetic value. In this sense, they must be considered as successful and noteworthy examples of cultural administration and urban design policy.