Mirror,mirror

India-born Anish Kapoor is indubitably the biggest name in public art today,and his giant,mysterious sculptures have charmed and baffled viewers across the world. Whether it is the trumpet at the Tate Modern,or Cloud Gate in Chicago a mirrored monolith that reassembles and reflects the world earth and sky,walls and faces,or his recent forays into red gunk and wax,Anish Kapoors works are both showy and philosophical,and their broad appeal has ensured that he has become the Henry Moore of his time.

As she introduced the blockbuster exhibition,Congress President Sonia Gandhi also expressed regret at our barren public spaces,and the lack of compelling public art in India,and its role in freeing people from prejudice. Whether or not public artwork edifies in the sense that Gandhi suggests ,it can certainly spark conversations,reflect the city in interesting ways,and provide new angles into everyday urban life 8211; think of Anthony Gormleys Fourth Plinth experiment in Trafalgar Square,or the wrap-artist Christos fabulous,surreal draping of the the Reichstag in Germany or the Pont Neuf in Paris.

Unfortunately in India,our public spaces have been dominated by political statues what better way to make military or political triumph real and incontrovertible than to set it in stone,atop a plinth? And sadly enough,the public has rarely had a say in public art 8211; the commissioning and selecting is opaque,and they are not seen as shifting,thought-provoking works but as permanent impositions. In the US,Richard Serras Tilted Arc was the mother of all public art disasters,inconvenient and unloved. We must certainly expand the range of public artworks in India,but while doing so,it is important that they be chosen by citizens,not by an officious committee,and that they resonate with their context.