Scott Woods: When Public Art is no Longer Public
There is no logical reason why anyone should feel bad that the Aminah Robinson mural on the side of a State Auto Insurance Company storage space Downtown was torn down.
For one, it isn’t an Aminah Robinson work of art; it was an homage organized in 2005 by artist Kristine Schramer and painted by Columbus College of Art and Design students. If people want to see the work the mural is based on, they can cross the street and see it at the Columbus Museum of Art.
The mural depiction of Robinson’s “A Street Called Home” is only “public art” in so much as it can be seen by the public. That the work is a go-to icon for civic brochures, high-end campaigns and news stories touting Columbus’ virtues as a real city doesn’t change the fact that it has been sitting on private property for the last 14 years.