Public art in Boston

The Appeal to the Great Spirit dominates the MFA Boston entrance and is one of my favorite pieces of public art in Boston

WBUR recently published The 50 Best Works of Public Art in Greater Boston, ranked. WBUR Arts reporter, Greg Cook, opens the article pointing to past criticisms by other Boston art critics who complain of a lack of imagination and a history of having too many sculptures of sports heroes and old white politicians.

Boston’s public art isn’t what is stodgy as much as it might be those whining art critics who must only walk around Beacon Hill, The Back Bay and Government Center. If they ever visited other neighborhoods they might be surprised by what they see. While I agree that Boston has a ton of art dedicated to athletes and politicians let’s remember this is a sports town of the first order and there was this little thing called the American Revolution which started here so we should have a lot of those statues – it’s what the tourists come here to see.

Brazilian street artists, Os Gemeos’s, 70′ x 70′ mural in Dewey Square was the first temporary art installation on the Greenway, Aug 1 – Nov 25, 2012

I have to compliment Cook on his list of public art, but in this blog post I’ve added a few favorites of mine which didn’t make his list. Notably I’d like to also share a 2015 article from Boston Magazine, which was dedicated to the amazing street art that dominates much of Allston, Neighborhood Public Art: Allston.

I would also like to give a shout out to the Underground Ink Block park, which opened last year and I think was overlooked. It shares more creative graffiti street art under the I-93 expressway along the South End / Southie border. Below are some examples of what you’ll find in this new park.