ArtePollino2022 – Third Paradise

On May 3, at 6 pm, in Latronico, at the Parco delle Terme Lucane, the permanent work dedicated to the Third Paradise, by MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO, made in cooperation with CITTADELLARTE –  PISTOLETTO FOUNDATION, will be opened. The stages of the creation of the Third Paradise in Latronico will be documented through an audiovisual work, made by director LUCA ACITO, with an interview with Michelangelo Pistoletto. On May 4, at 4 pm, at THE MULA+ Museum and Library of Latronico, the Cittadellarte – Pistoletto Foundation will lead the second Rebirth Forum in the Pollino Park, open to citizens, associations and administrators. The forum will be focused on the care of territories and their people.

Michelangelo Pistoletto

One of the most important living artists, one of the greatest interpreters of poor art. He took his first steps in the artistic world by working with his father, a paintings conservator. Later, he attended the advertising school of Armando Testa. Essential to Pistoletto’s art are the Mirror Paintings (Quadri specchianti) made between 1961 and 1962, which directly include in the work the observer and the real dimension of time. Michelangelo Pistoletto’s best-known work is the Venus of the Rags (1967),  which represents an immortal classical icon standing before a large pile of discarded clothes. According to Michelangelo Pistoletto, art is never attributable to the simple process of technical creation, but is linked to complex ideas. This idea has led him to become the promoter of initiatives involving artists from different creative fields. Since the 1990s, with “Progetto Arte”, and the establishment in Biella of the Cittadellarte-Pistoletto Foundation and the University of Ideas, he has created an active relationship between art and the social fabric, to inspire and bring about a responsible transformation of society, a great creative workshop involving young artists in every creative field (music, fashion, design, theatre, etc.). The city has become a meeting point for exhibitions, conferences, meetings and debates, but it is above all a place to share points of view, research and exchange ideas.

In 2012, he promoted the Rebirth-day, a universal day of rebirth which is celebrated on December 21 every year, with initiatives in different places of the world using the symbol of the Third Paradise. “The Third Paradise project aims to restore life to Earth through science, technology, art, culture, and politics. The Third Paradise means the transition to a new level of planetary civilisation, which is essential to ensure mankind’s survival. The Third Paradise is the new myth that leads everyone to take personal responsibility in this epoch-making moment. With the New Sign of Infinity, three circles are represented. The central one is the generative womb of the Third Paradise.” (Michelangelo Pistoletto). He has dedicated an essay to the Third Paradise, published in Italian, English, French and German. In 2013, the Louvre Museum in Paris hosted his solo exhibition. That same year he received the Imperial Praemium for painting in Tokyo. In May 2015, the Universidad de las Artes de Havana awarded him an honorary degree. In the same year, he made an impressive work called Rebirth, which was placed in the Park of the UN Building in Geneva, which is the seat of the United Nations.

In 2017, his text “Hominitheism and Demopraxy” was published. It is his manifesto for the regeneration of society. Between 2018 and 2020, the activity of the Third Paradise further intensified, mainly by developing an international network of embassies and forums. In this period, he was also especially active in various Latin American countries with solo exhibitions and several initiatives related to the Third Paradise.

Cittadellarte-Pistoletto Foundation

Cittadellarte is a new model of artistic and cultural institution that places art in direct interaction with different sectors of society. A place where ideas and projects combine creativity and entrepreneurship, training and production, ecology and architecture, politics and spirituality. A body whose main aim is to generate culture, triggering a necessary and urgent responsible social change at both local and global level. Cittadellarte’s social mission is incorporated into the myth of the Third Paradise.

Luca Acito

Director and researcher. He works on cultural projects related to films, new technologies, and new media to create visual, advertising, and cross-media projects in the constant search for language contamination. He is the founder of Studio Antani, a creative and multidisciplinary studio that develops audiovisual concepts and solutions for business communication and cultural projects by involving people with an ironic, poetic, unexpected and strong visual impact.