How to sign works of art in the public space? Selected problems and examples

Abstract

Although urban spaces are saturated with works of art fulfilling important aesthetic, social, educa­tional, and historical functions, these objects are often unnoticed, misunderstood or unidentified as art. The author’s thesis is that one of the reasons for this of this state of affairs is the lack of pro­fessional labels. The aim of this text is to analyze information boards on objects in the city of Lodz. The comparison of the collected examples shows various shortcomings of labels, their illegibility, incorrect placement, or even complete omission of any text informing about a given piece of art. The following article contains an analysis of twenty-two objects made after World War II, representing various genres of art and types of space. The conclusion of the article is a list of postulates that must be met in order to properly label works of art (based on the ten-point guide developed by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London) and a proposal of an exemplary plaque (concerning mural), which could become a standard solution.