EDITOR’S LETTER

Art is not located in any object or performance created, but instead in the handshake between the work and whoever is experiencing it. But we must admit, even with the best of intentions, a work intended as art can fall flat, doing nothing for us.

Art showed up in full force on January 14 and February 11, 2026, when the Philadelphia Art Commission approved the Rocky and Joe Frazier statues’ respective places at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Preceding the votes for both statues, heartfelt discussion from the city’s Creative Philadelphia team, the commissioners and the public exemplified the best of what public discourse offers. It was Art in the City. One 80-year-old gentleman said that he likes the Rocky statue but favors the location at street level where it’s more accessible. He made a compelling argument for keeping the top of the steps statue-free so “he can be Rocky” when he’s there and not interrupted by a surrogate. One commissioner spoke to how Rocky has earned its place over time in our city’s culture. I can testify to the line of photo-seekers I see every time I bike by the statue. Public art is assigned value by all of us; this value evolves. Rocky, the movie, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year as we celebrate the U.S.A.’s 250th. How did either stay relevant this long?

With art’s power to evoke, is the authenticity of emotions diminished when the source is a myth versus real? Many nuanced and strong feelings are engendered regarding the statues of Joe Frazier vs. Rocky and their respective physical positioning. As Marguerite Anglin, Creative Philadelphia’s Public Art Director, points out, “This is not a competition, it’s a conversation; and public art can help us have those conversations.”

As we will see in this issue’s features, art is all around us in various states of permanence or temporality. To generalize Philly’s art map, the Ben Franklin Parkway supports “material” arts to the northwest of City Hall, Broad Street extends the “performative” arts to the south, while North American Street is emerging with its own art identity in the east. Philly is fortunate to have institutions that support visionary plans and art while stewarding its maintenance for enduring appreciation. The Association for Public Art is a standout example of one organization that has contributed significantly, with a role in the initial plans for the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Ben Franklin Parkway; and ongoing stewardship of scores of artworks around the city and its parks.

There are many stewards who imagine, create, promote, preserve and conserve art for our broad continued appreciation. There is art in the city that is so loved that love destroys it. There is art in the city that is literally “LOVE.” There are art organizations like the Asian Arts Initiative, Ice Box Project Space and ArtPhilly whose sole mission is to shine a light on other artists. The creation of the new Calder Gardens, an artwork in itself, exhibits the work of one Alexander Calder, while reaffirming his father’s Swann Memorial Fountain at Logan Square and his grandfather’s William Penn perched atop City Hall’s clock tower. In so doing, it extends the handshake of the Parkway to all that visit —creating a connected art experience in the city.

*Recordings of Philadelphia Art Commission meetings are available to view on their website: www.phila.gov/departments/philadelphia-art-commission/recordings-of-public-meetings

Milton Lau, AIA

Perkins Eastman

Editor