An increasing dissolution of the links between social and spatial structures, along with the fragmentation and increasing heterogeneity of urban space and its surroundings, took place during the 20th century. Since the 1970s, this has led to artists focusing more on the city and its public spaces — for instance, Gordon Matta-Clark`s ‘Cuttings’ or Trisha Brown´s performance of ‘Roof Piece’ on the roofs of Manhattan. In these works, the city served both as the raw material and as a resource. The new ‘site-specificity’ of art sought to counteract the non-diversification of urban space that followed from functionalist principles of urban design and the implementation of major infrastructural developments. It was related closely to the wish to make public space facilities — as places for autonomous action and communication — accessible to urban society.

During the 1980s, the opportunities for artistic practice to go beyond the institutionalized context of museums and galleries gained greater prominence. The ‘art as public space’ movement took a critical look at the newest political and social themes. It was not only concerned with the aesthetic experience of a location, but also about an overall improvement in urban living conditions, along with the creation of new communication arenas. Innovative exhibition practices were called for and the curator´s brief expanded; originally an archivist and collector, (s)he became an agent of the artists, a location scout, and mediator. Jessica Cusick´s ‘Messages to the Public’, for example, formed a key part of the Public Art Fund´s long-term commitment to media-based artworks. Running from 1982 to 1990, the show featured a series of artists´ projects created specifically for the Spectacolor light board at Times Square. Every month, a different artist, such as Jenny Holzer or Lorna Simpson, presented a thirty-second animation.

Artistic interest in socio-political questions increased in the 1990s. According to Suzanne Lacy´s anthology ‘Mapping the Terrain’, New Genre Public Art (NGPA), or ‘art in the public interest’, emerged then. The focal point here was not so much the identity of the city but rather the importance of putting citizens at the forefront. Criticism of the ‘Art Institution’ included criticism of urban design. The ‘White Cube’ should have been open to an alternative critical publicity and to other social groups, thus enabling a collective experience (Hildebrandt 2012: 727f).