> “Public art adds value to our life,” visual and performance artist Johanna Poethig said...
...meaning that it adds to the income of self-described artists, while putting the gubmint imprimatur on what is and isn’t art.
Reminds me of that scene from the Charlie Sheen/Angie Harmon movie in where the "artiste" fills himself up with paint, and blasts a canvas in front of a live audience.