In exploring the world-wide upsurge of public art, this beautiful volume discusses and photographically illustrates significant examples of: public art sponsored by all levels of government - federal, state, county and city in the US and Canada, including the US's major programs across the nation supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and Canada's National Art Bank; the important progress made in the introduction of public art on US and Canadian universities and college campuses - including designs of civic center plazas, transportation facilities, and outdoor wall murals; significant works in the commercial and corporate sectors - including large regional shopping centers, banks and office buildings; recent developments in countries around the world, especially leading advances in France, Sweden, West Germany, Norway, Holland, Switzerland, and Denmark - featuring large plazas with sculptured forms, bright colors, and computerized configurations in fountain design kinetics, lighting, and graphics, as well as artists' efforts to create pleasurable environments by combining natural earth and man-made materials; interesting public art works from other countries - Australia, Belgium, Brazil, England, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and Yugoslavia. An important section covers the practical aspects of commissioning the artist for public projects, including procedures used by corporations, developers, and individuals - with practical discussions of insurance by artists, comprehensive specification, competition and installation deadlines, and payment schedules.