Wellington City seems to have a great knack for making public art happen – or at least giving the appearance that this is the case. The city has consciously branded itself a ‘creative city’ and cultural destination and it cleverly uses its public art works in promotional material to reinforce this message. So much so that artist Neil Dawson’s suspended sculptural globe Ferns has now become synonymous with Wellington. It is hardly surprising therefore that the first comprehensive publication devoted solely to public art Wellington A City for Sculpture has sprung from our capital city.

This book is a welcome arrival, given the dearth of New Zealand publications on public art. The editors have gathered together an impressive selection of writers from academic and curatorial backgrounds and each have provided a short, thoughtful essay that, in combination, cover a broad range of themes on Wellington’s public art works. Included are Maori art works, historical sculptures, temporary art projects, corporate art works including those created through the arts bonus scheme, as well as essays on public art works in specific areas such as Lambton Quay, the Civic Square, the waterfront and the Botanic Garden. Most of the essays are lively and engaging. Curiously absent is an artist’s perspective on creating art for the public realm, which could have provided an interesting addition to this collection. Credit is given to the Wellington Sculpture Trust which has played a pivotal role in the funding and management of many major public art projects. The Trust appears to enjoy an enviable relationship with the City Council.

Anyone who has been involved in a public art project will understand the complexity of creating art in the urban environment, so it is pleasing to see that along with the accolades, this book acknowledges the lengthy and sometimes fraught processes required to develop public art projects. Interestingly, this has been equally true for historical sculptures as Roger Blackley points out: “public sculpture always remains subject to the vagaries of both taste and town planning”.

Jenny Harper offers an insightful essay touching on more uncomfortable issues surrounding the maintenance, restoration, relocation and disappearance of several public art works. Harper acknowledges that this book does not debate the growing abundance of art works in the city, and it will certainly be interesting to see how Wellington tackles the deaccessioning question in the future.

The publicity surrounding this book promised a ‘visual feast’. However the publication is somewhat let down by its design. The use of staggered margins to delineate paragraphs is distracting and messy. Compromises have been made on the format and the result is disappointing, especially given the subject matter, which has been cleverly captured by Bruce Connew’s evocative photographs.

However, despite this, Wellington A City for Sculpture fills an unmistakable void. It is an excellent documentation of public art in Wellington and intelligently and accessibly explores a broad range of issues concerning the relationship between art and urban spaces. A useful index of the art works discussed is included in the publication, along with maps to identify locations. Although it is probably not the easiest book to take with you on a sculpture walk and dip into, it does provide great background reading.

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