The view that art can exist everywhere, and not just in museums and galleries, has led, since the 1960s, to an increasing presence of artworks in various parts of the city: in squares, public parks, pedestrian streets, university campuses, schools, train stations, and hospitals.
The significance of this diffusion of artworks for the image of public spaces is comparable to that of placing statues and erecting monuments in 19th-century cities. "Public art" is an extremely broad term used to describe any artistic creation and action that is located in public space, outside of museums or galleries.
The flourishing of public art in recent decades is largely due to the funding that governments have begun to allocate for public works, including health buildings, and to the activity of artists. More and more artists are recognizing and taking on their responsibilities towards the social whole, although they know that art is part of the global economic environment and a multi-billion multinational enterprise.
Many artists today use public spaces and buildings to reach out to and address a non-artistic audience, but also to make a political statement. It may be excessive to say that this can change the world, but certainly, it can contribute to an understanding of the contemporary world.
The question of why an architect adds art to a building that is already "perfect" has its roots in the past but has also been answered by Mies van der Rohe. These elements have nothing to do with the intrusion of decoration into the purity of modern architecture and remain a practice of many architects to this day.
Unlike visits to museums, which are a pleasant holiday process or places of relaxation during our free time, visits to health buildings have no element of entertainment. Imagine passing through an emergency department or an outpatient clinic.
This book also emerged from study visits to various healthcare facilities. At Huddinge Hospital, in a suburb of Stockholm, in the late 1980s, I was surprised and impressed by the presence of artworks as well as the existence, within its spaces, of a small museum focused on the Vikings.
In the following years, it was increasingly confirmed that the arts can contribute to creating a calmer, soothing, and protective environment. Therapeutic arts is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of activities. According to studies, the arts for health contribute to the faster recovery of the patient.
Their role is to convey positive energy and a sense of comfort in spaces that are usually experienced as places with high emotional intensity - even if temporarily.
