Contemporary Forms of Urban Art and Aesthetics

Art has always been an important part of the aesthetic dimension of cities. Power and politics, cultural traditions and references, social status, as well as current aesthetic and artistic regimes have been made visible through a variety of different types of artistic works in the urban sphere. This has significant repercussions for the aesthetics of contemporary cities. Especially interesting is the case of historic cities in the face of the need to reinvent and sustain identity at the same time. This paper traces some of the different forms of contemporary art focusing on how they affect the overall urban aesthetic and experiential dimension in the context of the specifically European historic city. The theoretical underpinnings of the significance of art in the urban context follow recent developments in philosophical and applied urban aesthetics. Emphasis within this approach is given to the urgency of urban sustainability transformations, in which art can be also an important catalyst and facilitator.