The call for papers promoted by the journal “Aristana. Cultures and Architectures of the Mediterranean” directed by Marco Cadinu, is open and dedicated to the theme
“ARS PUBLICA IN RE PUBLICA: Public art in architecture and public spaces”.

In 1949, the so-called “2% law” was enacted in Italy, which allocated 2% of the amount of work on a public work to the realization of a work of art that formed an integral part of it.

The law institutionalized a practice with ancient origins that was well established by the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The fledgling republic intended in this way to give new impetus to the presence of art in cities and architecture for various purposes: propagandistic, pedagogical, and decorative, in any case marked by the importance and care of public space.

The bourgeois idea of art as an element of decorum necessary for the cultural growth of nations coexisted with the social idea that art in public spaces, and not only in museums, would be able to reach even those masses who would otherwise never be able to enjoy it.

The outcomes of the “2 percent law” were often interesting, and almost every citizen experienced one of these works of art placed in a school, a market, an office, according to a widespread practice in many nations.
At the very moment when the Ministry of Culture’s General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity is conducting a census to monitor its achievements and give new impetus to this practice, it seems important to reflect on the origins, motivations, outcomes and prospects of a law now largely disregarded. The numerous subsequent legislative interventions aimed at reviving or clarifying the operational contours of the norm from a national or regional perspective (for Sardinia, L.R. 14/2006) have yet to be adequately supported and pursued, even calling for a synthesis between art and architecture rather than the co-presence, outside a not particularly interesting architecture, of a very modern work of art in its own right.

We believe that reflecting on the reasons for and outcomes of the presence of art in architecture can be a further stimulus to better understand the criticality and importance of a norm that places the aesthetic quality of public works as an essential and not an ancillary requirement.

Issue 3 of “Aristana” invites artists, architects, philosophers, art and architectural historians, photographers, urban planners, sociologists and jurists to investigate from different perspectives the proposed theme.
We thank in advance all scholars who would like to propose a contribution.

FORMAT OF CONTRIBUTIONS

With this Call Aristana aims to welcome from scholars three types of contributions:

• long article (max 25,000 characters + images)
• short article (max 15,000 keystrokes + images)
• one or more sheets each containing a very concise contribution (max 3,000 keystrokes + images)

IMPORTANT DATES

Deadline for abstract submission: 30/10/2024

Notification of abstract acceptance: 30/11/2024

Deadline for submission of scientific contributions, formatted according to the editorial guidelines: 28/02/2025

Peer review process: by 30/04/2025

Publication of contributions: by 30/06/2025

Scholars have the option to directly propose a complete article if deemed relevant and significant to the journal’s theme. It will still undergo a revision process.

For the abstract and article submission guidelines, please visit the following link: ABSTRACT EDITORIAL GUIDELINES and ARTICLE EDITORIAL GUIDELINES

For information and submission of abstracts and articles, please write to redazionearistana@fondazioneoristano.it