MODERN public sculptures in urban China are generally works of low quality, according to Professor Ma Qinzhong of the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts who is also an art critic.

He cited a group of sculptures in front of the Grand Gateway in Shanghai's Xujiahui area as an example. The works are true-life bronze sculptures and portray figures such as a woman with several shopping bags talking on a mobile phone and a young man carrying his girlfriend on his bicycle.

Similar works are scattered in other parts of the city. Over a year ago, one sculpture at the subway station Shaanxi Nanlu disappeared over-night causing a public outcry. That work depicted a young woman using a public telephone.

Bonsai-like art

Ma doesn't think that this series of sculptures fits in well with Shanghai's environment although many residents seem to like them and tourists tend to take pictures in front of them.

"The city is crowded already. We don't need more people repeating the scenes from busy everyday life," he said. "Art should have an 'uplifting' function, not just imitate life."

Public sculptures should be more interesting, Ma believes. A group of "Buddy" bears from Germany that appeared in the Shanghai Spring Art Salon last month offered a better example.

"Firstly, they are in bright colours and light up the whole space," Ma said. "And their simple, naive figures brings freshness to people's minds. Also, they remind people of the close relation between human beings and nature."

Public art is found in various urban structures and buildings. Often, sculptures are built to fill an empty space without consideration of the significance of the art works. Ma compared this kind of "fill empty space" sculpture to bonsai (dwarf trees).

A "triple steel carp" sculpture in front of a building is described by Ma as "unbearably vulgar". And there is little knowledge as to the relationship between the size and quality of a sculpture and the space it fills.

Political outcomes

One important reason behind the number of unsuccessful public sculptures is the involvement of local officials in commissioning the sculptures. To display the achievements of his term in office, a local government leader often makes great efforts to "improve" the look of the city, hoping to build a permanent "monument" to the people. The result is that sculptures become an exercise book for a few decision-makers' study and understanding of public art.

Ma himself was once consulted as an expert in the planning and design of a public sculpture. "I thought the first draft was good enough, but it was revised twice at the request of local officials, from the cultural official to the mayor and Party secretary."

"This co-ordination between art experts and the government is related to the whole social system," Ma said. "There is a long way to go to find a solution to this issue."

And art authorities represented by these senior experts tend to be conservative about public art projects. "We have relied too much on the elderly and their experience," Ma told one meeting of art experts. "Experience alone never leads to the future.

"To whom do we leave this project? What do we want to tell future generations about our culture? Where do we display our wisdom if we just imitate past generations?

"Art represents the elite culture of the time. It embodies prophecy. Even if we can't accept new concepts, we should learn to tolerate them. In a tolerant environment, 10 mistakes may be made, but even if one turns into a masterpiece, it is more valuable than 10 conservative projects.

"It is not rare to see an artwork ignored or under-appreciated by artists which turns out to be a masterpiece in the eyes of future generations."

City symbol

Ma said it was common practice to look for a symbol to be adopted by a town or a city on which many public art themes could be based. The problem is that the symbolic theme is often taken mechanically. For example, Fengdu town in Southwest China's Sichuan Province is known as the town of ghosts and innumerable sculptures of ghosts can be found around the town.

Likewise, Shanghai has adopted as a symbol the magnolia flower. "This is a new topic in the art field. A city's logo should be related to its ideology and culture, but not limited by any specific image," Ma said.

And artists' involvement often brought new light to urban planning. In Germany, artists are invited to design bus stop shelters, which become functional public art works.

"Shanghai should be a guidebook for the development of other cities in China," Ma said. "Shanghai should offer a platform where people can see really good stuff."

Artists have a term for low-quality sculptures, "veggie sculpture". "Veggie sculptures" are made with rough craftsmanship with little artistic originality.

Many sculptures built by real estate developers fall into this category. These works are often replicas or imitations of ancient Greek and Roman art.

"There are many such pretentious examples in the Gubei area," said a local white collar worker. "These sculptures carry the imputation that 'This is a high-end community and people who live here have classical taste for art', which is not true at all."

"This is the worst of all - a sign of the utmost lack of culture," Ma commented.

But such phenomena are the most difficult to eliminate. "Because they are deeply rooted in the mentality of a whole generation," he said.

People from the 1950s and 1960s saw such examples of "art" in movies and they symbolize the lifestyle of the rich in their imaginations.

The only way to change this attitude is through access to really good art, "to uplift ordinary people's aesthetic viewpoints."

"It is good to absorb from classics and abstract the artistic language from them and turn that into a cultural asset for our day instead of just bringing out antiques," Ma said.