Plop art (or plonk art) is a pejorative slang term for public art (usually large, abstract, modernist or contemporary sculpture) made for government or corporate plazas, spaces in front of office buildings, skyscraper atriums, parks, and other public venues.
The term "plop" suggests the sound of something falling heavily and suddenly.
[1][2][3] Some defenders of public art funding have tried to reappropriate the term.
The book Plop: Recent Projects of the Public Art Fund celebrates the success of the Public Art Fund in financing many publicly placed works of art over the last few decades, many of which are now beloved, though they may at first have been derided positively as "ploppings".
[5][6] The term has been taken up by others, including British sculptor Rachel Whiteread and art historian Miwon Kwon.