In March
2004 Turin University granted Pistoletto an honorary degree in Political
Science. On that occasion Pistoletto publicly announced the most recent
phase of his work, Third Paradise, the symbol of which is
the New Infinity Sign created in 2003.
With reference to Third Paradise and Pistoletto’s recent
research into symbols, see the conversation between Pistoletto and
Massimo Melotti: Simbolo e arte, in Sul simbolo
(Luca Sossella Editore, Rome 2004).
Third Paradise was presented at the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005 by
the collective subject Cittadellarte. An exhibition entitled “Inner
Island: Art of Survival”, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva, presented
events, meetings and workshops on the Isle of San Servolo, on the
tugboat Impetus and in other places around the city, with
the participation, among others, of Gilberto Gil in the double role
of musician and Brazilian Culture Minister.
From 2007, with the collaboration between Pistoletto and the musician
Gianna Nannini, curated by Zerynthia - RAM Radioartemobile, the Third
Paradise evolved into a multimedia work in progress.
In 2010 Michelangelo Pistoletto wrote the essay "the Third Paradise",
published by Marsilio Editori.
I traced in the sand the new infinity symbol, which
replaces the traditional symbol formed by a continuous line that
intersects itself, forming two curves. The new infinity symbol intersects
twice not two, but three circles: the central one represents a gravid
womb, fruit of the coupling of the two circles that made up the
old symbol. This womb symbolizes the generation of the Third
Paradise. What is the third paradise? It is the fertile coupling
of the first and second paradise. The first was the Earthly Paradise
that came before the eating of the apple. It is the natural paradise
where everything is regulated by the intelligence of nature. The
second is the Artificial Paradise, the one developed by human intelligence,
by means of a very slow process that has reached an increasingly
vast and exclusive dimension in the last two centuries. This paradise
is made up of artificial needs, artificial comforts, artificial
pleasures and every other sort of artifice. A real artificial world
has formed that continues to grow, consuming and ever more drastically
corroding the natural planet. All sorts of indicators point to the
danger of a tragic collision between these two spheres. Confronted
by the universal problem of humanity’s survival, we’ve
conceived the global project entitled Third Paradise…. The
biblical reference does not have religious purposes, but is used
to give force and meaning to the concept of responsible social change
and to fuel a high ideal that unites, in a single endeavor, the
arts, the sciences, economics, spirituality and politics”
(Michelangelo Pistoletto, “The Third Paradise,” in Journal
8, Cittadellarte, Biella 2004, 5).
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