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The Real Estate Government and Public Art: Focused on Hudson Yards and the Vessel in New York City

  • Journal of History of Modern Art
  • 2023, (54), pp.57-82
  • Publisher : 현대미술사학회
  • Research Area : Arts and Kinesiology > Art > Arts in general > Art History
  • Received : October 25, 2023
  • Accepted : November 25, 2023
  • Published : December 31, 2023

Chison Kang 1

1홍익대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the relationship between neoliberal city, real estate and public art by focusing on ‘governmentality’. The neoliberal turn of urban governmentality has transferred significant political and administrative power from government to real estate capital. As a result, real estate capital operates as governing power and influences not only urban planning but also political life as a whole. The real estate government threatens the city's democracy as well as public art, by appropriating cities and public spaces for private interests. Currently, public art is being incorporated into large-scale real estate developments policies led by real estate companies. As a result, public art is involved in the privatization of urban space and monopoly power. This paper focuses on Hudson Yards and the Vessel in New York as an evident example of ‘private city’ governed by real estate and privatized public art. Hudson Yard reveals the risks of the real estate government, which instrumentalizes urban space as a driving force for class segregation, profit-making, and reshaping subjectivity. the Vessel conceals monopoly profit and power with an emphasis on publicness, and participates in formation of neoliberal civic subjects. It also shows the problem of the exclusionary decision-making and operation of the real estate government. The Vessel symbolizes the domination of public space by real estate power. As a representation of the crisis in public life, the Vessel disrupts the essence and concept of public art that has been defined in the correlation with democracy.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.