Abstract
Purpose. Los Angeles's private and public art programs have become the largest program in the country (Cultural Affairs Department, 1997). Little research has evaluated the Percent for Art program of local or state levels of government from the perspective of the public administrator. The purpose of this study was to examine the public art program in the City of Los Angeles from the perspective of public administrators. Theoretical framework. In order to examine the relationship of the public administrators, artists, private developers, and the public or the citizens, the researcher has embraced a theoretical framework that draws from the following four theories: Open System Theory serves the guiding role in the whole framework. Selznick's Autonomy and Responsiveness Theory and Fishcher's Public Participation Theory serve the supporting role in conducting this research. Harman's Policy Formulation Grid has a complementary role in analysis of the administrative style of the two public art agencies. Methodology. This study utilized the descriptive research method and procedure to describe systematically the facts and characteristics of the Los Angeles public art program from the public administrators' perspectives. The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the Cultural Affairs Department (CAD), the implementing policy units, are the main cases in this study. Face-to-face interviews with each of the administrators was used to collect data. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was applied. Findings. Community meetings for public art projects regarding the artwork commissioned by public segment or using art funds of the public agency are required. The artwork received some negative responses from the public. However, rarely did private developers consider public participation or receive negative responses in the findings. The public administrators also need to address public desires and needs or respond to public opinion regarding the artwork, except the artwork done by private developers. The findings also show that some factors affect the performance of the public artwork such as public visibility of the artwork, quality and overall cost of the project, degree of public participation and the level of cooperation between artist, agency, and the public. Conclusions and recommendations. Generally, public administrators have moderate degrees of discretion to implement policy because they have to respond the needs and desires of not only the public but also elected political officials. Public artwork received greater support from public administrators than the public voices did. Artwork done by private developers hardly considered the public participation and had an ambiguous definition in the area of public art programs. Public's perception of public art in this part should be clarified to increase the function of public art in both public and private Percent for Art programs. Therefore, it is recommended that future research focus on the public's perspective to explore the public art program of Los Angeles.