ABSTRACT
The chapter seeks to identify the ways in which art can function in public space. To establish this, it is argued that art, politics, and ethics are associated with each other in realizing their potential in public space. The argument starts from an analysis of Joseph Brodski’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, in which he focused on the relationships between politics and art. Subsequently, contemporary concepts of such associations are evoked, including ideas developed by Habermas, Badiou, Agamben, and Rancière. In conclusion, however, Julia Kristeva’s views are brought to the forefront. Specifically, Kristeva proposes re-casting revolution in terms of individual revolt which is expressed in opposing the forms of social life. In and of itself a form of individual expression, art can thus become a part of discourse in public space.
