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51st Venice Art Biennale - The Third Paradise
June 8 - September 30, 2005
 
  • Collateral Event - 51st Biennale International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia
  • Co-produced and organized by Venice International University, with the patronage of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
  • Curated by Achille Bonito Oliva

Michelangelo Pistoletto developed a site specific project, located in the garden of San Servolo Island, inspired by a previous installation by the same name.


 A furrow traced in the ground formed the “new symbol of infinity”, which comprised not two, but three circles. The central one delineated a pregnant belly, product of the coupling of the two circles that made up the old symbol. This belly metaphorically represented the generation of the Third Paradise.
According to Pistoletto, the first paradise is the Earthly Paradise that preceded the biting of the apple. This was the natural paradise where everything was regulated by the intelligence of nature itself.
The second one is the Artificial Paradise, developed by human intelligence over the course of a very slow process that in the last few centuries has assumed an ever-larger and more exclusive dimension. This paradise consists of artificial needs, artificial comforts, artifical pleasures and all other forms of artifice. A full-blown artificial world has taken shape and continues to grow, consuming and damaging the natural planet in a more and more serious way. The increasingly imminent danger of a tragic collision between these two spheres has been announced in every possible way. In order to stop moving towards this catastrophic event it is necessary to conceive the global project that Pistoletto calls the Third Paradise. This can only be realized through the search for harmony between artifice and nature.

The Third Paradise was part of the Inner Island: Art of Survival exhibition curated by Achille Bonito Oliva which featured a retrospective of some of Pistoletto's most famous works (Self Portrait of Stars, 1973; Caressing the Trees, 1973-1982; Place of Meditation, 2000-2005) but also some new installations (Doors to the Uffizi, inspired by the Porte di Palazzo Fabroni, Pistoia 1995) and works by artists from the Cittadellarte Love Difference.

The mission of Cittadellarte is to “inspire responsible change in society through creative ideas and projects”. According to Pistoletto, founder of Cittadellarte, art should interact with every aspect of society, from economics to politics, from education to communication. The works of Cittadellarte brought Pistoletto's ideal and practical message to Venice International University through its various centers, called "uffizi" or "offices" dedicated to different fields of the social structure. The Uffizi were transferred from Biella to VIU and each (work, politics, economics, production, education, communication offices) had a showroom exhibiting the related projects.

Producing the transformation consisted of eight giant wall posters representing innovative ideas for responsible and sustainable production, developed by various research centers from all around the world.

Italia in persona was a section dedicated to Made in Italy. Italia in Persona is a project whose aim is to rethink the cultural mission of Italian products in a more ethical and sustainable way, considering the human being as the center of society, so that every producer should consider himself as a customer of his own product, taking more care about the quality, the environment, the production methods.

All the different sections of the exhibition were linked by “Geographies of change”, one hundred and twenty colored metal cylinders marking the entire course of the exhibition, displaying Cittadellarte’s worldwide network of contacts that are developing projects directed towards the responsible transformation of society.

Links
 
Cittadellarte
Terzo Paradiso
Love Difference
Love Difference News Item - The Exhibition
Love Difference News Item - The Inauguration
Inner Island Bonito Oliva Concept
 
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