Arts at the public space and its effects on urban places-Sculpture applications study in İstanbul

Urban places are very important as public spaces in terms of social life and existence of individual. This importance comes as public space is the main physical and functional platform of the social and daily life practices of the community and the base which creates the aesthetics degree of this is determinative for the life standards of the society and the cities. When we evaluate from this angle, urban places are the spaces which the power conflicts take shape and become concrete to form and control the public spaces by different groups. This relationship makes the base of the design, production and transformation process of the urban places. When it is seen from this direction, either discussed for the urban design, planning or urban architecture practices or for the analysis of the meaning of the signs of the urban places; to evaluate and understand mutually these correlations which form the identity of the place is important for canalizing these effects for the benefits of the community. Arts as the highest degree of the creation which the physical aesthetics reach, finds its true social power when it is applied at the public space. This power comes from the positive interaction of the city with arts. While art is deepening the dimensions of its meaning with the public content, urban place achieve a high aesthetic degree and a strong public symbol. From this angle, how the public arts will meet the urban place require to be discussed carefully in the means of both spatial parameters and the effects which will form the content of the piece. Further more, the effects of public arts to the urban places will increase either in the means of physical aesthetics and the sociological meanings with the production of them freely and well organized. This process can take place from an art object placed in an urban place to the urban spatial practice which is organized in an artistic degree. Parallel to the evaluation of the effects of arts at the public space to the urban places in international degree, sculpture which is the main public art in Turkey during the Republic Period is discussed and evaluated concretely with the analysis of the six pieces made at different dates and at different places in Istanbul. Keywords: Public space, urban place, arts, sculpture.