An exception is Melanie Lyons’ Forgotten sculpture on the highway. The theme is dark, but what she did is take old car parts from accidents on the roads and repurpose them into a lovely tribute to those whose lives have been lost in accidents. If this artwork reminds us to take care on that deadly road, it will have done its job beautifully.

Dictionary.com defines beauty as: ‘the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind … from sensory manifestations’.

Artists have always worked to make places beautiful. Many works, such as Mona Lisa, Trevi Fountain, or Albert Namatjira’s landscapes, will be considered beautiful by most of us; other works will give intense pleasure to some, but not others (such as Blue Poles or Armstrong’s large owl sculpture in Belconnen).

As part of the New Deal in the US in 1934, one per cent of each federal building’s cost was to be spent on artistic decoration, to build morale, create jobs and reduce crime.

“It is impossible to have a society that is civil and educated without public art,” said former Rockefeller Foundation vice president Darren Walker. “It lifts up humanity and challenges the individual who encounters it to think differently about the world.”

Public art can be enjoyed, discussed, criticised and appreciated by all. It is said it helps to give a community an identity and brings people together. An Australian Council for the Arts report found 85 per cent of us think the arts make for a richer and more meaningful life. 

Does Yass need more public art? Love to hear your thoughts.