Iconoclasm in the Public Square

For historic preservationists and conservationists, iconoclasm is now the most consequential issue in the field and will continue to be a matter of contention for the foreseeable future. Motives for enacting iconoclasm can be justified, but what are the consequences for doing so, and how, in turn, will this determine the future of our public spaces in towns and cities? More fundamentally, is the current period of iconoclasm leading us to reconsider the public square as part of the built environment? This book will be the first theory-informed work to examine the discordance among the public over controversial historic monuments in the historic landscape and how it should be addressed. It challenges architects, landscape architects, conservationists, preservationists, elected officials, and the public to reconsider the public square and whether or not civic art that memorializes is still relevant or a practice that can be reimagined. It also considers the after-effects of iconoclasm acts: How should we redesign public civic spaces after we have either destroyed or removed historic monuments? As societal values change in regard to public memorialization, how will heritage practitioners, conservationist technicians, and urban designers grapple with working in the civic realm, which may be considered antiquated but continues to exist in our cities?

Paul Hardin Kapp is Associate Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an author, teacher, architect, and historic preservationist in the United States.