In the past 25 five years or so, most of the states have passed legislation which mandates that 1 percent of any publicly funded building or renovation project that budgets at more than $100,000 should be set aside to buy art for the construction project. The project might be a new courthouse, or a stretch of highway, or a new wing at a research hospital, or the city's new water filtration plant, or a building at a public university, for ex. (NOTE: "Publicly funded" means that government funds or tax money finances the construction project).

describe why does such a program of public art come into existence? A historical examination takes place.