Nuit Blanche Dubois Comparison

Public art is art in any media that has been planned and executed with the intention of being staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all. The concept of public art is one that has arguably been around for as long as art has. Some early examples of public art are pieces such as the statues of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the Parthenon, or even Mount Rushmore in the United States. This public art is monumental and iconic. It seems like history public art has been a way to commemorate leaders, whether they be religious or political. Or even as a place of worship, such as the Old St. Peter’s Basilica, the Hagia Sophia or the Parthenon. In the 20th century, though, public art really came into its own. Artists began

Another good example of public art is Henry Moore’s Two Large Forms from the 1960’s that resides in Grange Park, a large metal sculpture that literally depicts two large forms that seem to be interlocking with each other. This paper will focus on the similarities and differences of these two examples of Toronto based public art.
To begin, there are many similarities and differences between the event Nuit Blanche and Henri Moore’s Two Large Forms. The most obvious is the fact that Nuit Blanche is an event that contains many artworks by many artists, while Two Large Forms is a single artwork by a single artist: Henri Moore. As stated, Nuit Blanche is an event with a variety of installation and performance work in the streets for guests to experience. The focus of the event is to have the public experience the city transformed by artists, as well as to bring the community together. Though the focus of Nuit Blanche and Two Large Forms is not completely the same is still serves the same purpose. Two Large Forms currently resides in the Grange park beside the Art Gallery of Ontario, and

The idea of public art beautifies neighborhoods, while bringing a community together. Nuit Blanche falls under bringing a community together, while Two Large Forms is more for the neighborhood, considering it’s a permanent piece instead of an overnight event. There is little to be said about Two Large Forms, as it simply that. Though, the same is not said for Nuit Blanche. Yes, the event is all fun and games for the people of Toronto, although the event is the cause of serious economic gain for Toronto. The sundown to sunup up event is so popular amongst Toronto’s public that approximately 300 000 people attending in 2016, including 204 000 out-of-town guests, it also generated an economic impact of 43 million dollars for Toronto (History). This model similar to the famous Art Fair. Paco Barragan, author of Introduction to The Art Fair Age, states, ““Experience economy” is a concept that has found its way in recent years. Basically this is an economy whose growth is propelled by a search for memorable experiences orchestrated by forward-thinking and inventive companies.” (121). Though Barragan is referring to the popular Art Fair, this doesn’t sound too far off from the mandate of events like Nuit Blanche. He continues to say, “This idea of “staging the unexpected” is explained clearly by Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, authors of The Experience Economy, which states