“Who is the artist’s PUBLIC?”

On June 1969, the Art Workers’ Coalition (AWC) demonstrated for artists’ rights, and in their manifesto was a question of who the "public" is to the artist. Indeed, the question of including people groups outside of the circle of art professionals as the artist’s subject of “PUBLIC” remains relevant today.
To define who is our “PUBLIC”, we are again left with the task of defining its parameters. Possible interpretations may range from perceiving the public as the agent of aesthetic appreciation, to any people groups related to the sociocultural environment.

Appreciation of art may be approached from two major categories. Artist MIOON reached a provisional conclusion that the current state of Korean art circle was hinged upon the changing or diluted nature of the public. This conclusion was made based on the assumption that the area of intersection between artistic value and popular appeal is proportionate to the public properties of art. This weakening of “public-ness” is becoming apparent throughout society - and art has been no exception to this phenomenon. The term 'public' signifies that it is non-excludable and non-rivalrous in usage by the members of society. The term includes goods such as water, atmosphere, air, and most environmental factors. It is needed by all, and no individual or combination of individuals can claim ownership over it. The improvement of its quality or long-term sharing of such resource requires interest and effort of every member. From that perspective, the loss of “public-ness” in art results in two different outcomes: those of the "inner circle" of art creating and considering their own boundaries of public-ness, and those who recklessly and repeatedly create and consume images.

Everyone speaks of the public, but nothing is said about the public. facing such precarious times, the role of art is discussed by all and none simultaneously. Everyone talks about art, and no one really says anything about art. Within the art world, exhibitions and works inspired from individual perspectives are to be reinterpreted as our own stories. As member to a communal group, there ought to be a movement to critically analyze and accept those stories. Easy Public, Difficult Public The term "public" can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The time, space, and the surrounding environment on how term is used, who is saying what under which circumstance will result in a wide range of reinterpretation of that term. Countless variables expound the way a public is interpreted. One clear conclusion is that whether it is an interpretation, or a use in conjunction to any event or people who are relevant to it, the event needs to be addressed. It needs to be discussed even in situations concerning closed circles and communities.