Only a city like Naples, which does not lack irony and imagination, could think of building a phallic sculpture12 meters high, in a symbolic place of the capital of Campania, the Municipal Square, right in front of the Town Hall. It was inevitable that this gigantic artistic installation by the architect, designer and sculptor Gaetano Pesce, who died six months ago in New York, would create controversy.
Born in La Spezia (Liguria) in 1939, he became world-renowned for his radical and innovative vision. It is considered one of the pioneers of contemporary designwith works in museums around the world. He revolutionized the use of materials, particularly resin, creating iconic works such as the Up armchairan iconic piece designed by Pesce in 1969, a symbol of the fight for female emancipation.
Gaetano Pesce’s posthumous work is inspired by pulcinellamask from Neapolitan folklore, derived from the 17th century comedy del arte. The work is dedicated to the character Pulcinella or Policinella, a hunchbacked, with a humorous and boastful characterin Italian farce and in puppet theater.
Sarcasm and provocation
The sculpture has been given the name in the Neapolitan dialect of “Tu si’nacosa grande” (You are a big thing). In a witty city like Naples, the statue has provoked sarcasm and endless jokes. The prize has gone to a former PD deputy, a well-known activist, who made a play on words on her profile on the social network a provocative connotation: “Tu si ‘na algo glane.”
The work has cost about 200,000 eurosincluding installation costs and 24-hour security, until December 19, the date on which it will be removed from the Municipal Square and kept in the city permanently.
In reality, the installation is made up of two sculptures in dialogue with each other: Pulcinella, cylindrical in shape, physically created by Gaetano Pesce, and ‘The arrow in the heart’a five-meter work, a posthumous creation based on the artist’s design, placed side by side in the space occupied until a few months ago by Michelangelo Pistoletto’s ‘Venus of Rags’.
The two sculptures in dialogue
Debate and scandal
The inauguration, attended by Mayor Gaetano Manfredi, of the Democratic Party, was an event in Naples. At the express wish of the artist, an orchestra composed solely of girls from Neapolitan secondary schools performed the Ravel Bolero.
The installation has created a great debate and some scandal in some sectors. Right-wing opposition councilors have lamented what they consider a waste of public money. However, the municipal administration estimates that the economic return will far exceed the cats, because the phallic sculpture in the Municipal Square will serve to promote the Naples brand.
Manfredi has not shied away from the debate and considers it an example of the vitality that is breathed in Naples: «At first, when I saw it, I thought the same as the others. I think it is a thought that has reached everyone and is very Neapolitan. We should also take it as a good omen. But the idea of the work is a stylized representation of the relationship between Pulcinella and the heart of the Neapolitans. And then – the mayor concluded – contemporary art must provoke discussion, the debate is a sign of a living city».
Evocation of Pompeii
The curator of the event, Silvana Annicchiarico, has expressed herself along the same lines, declaring to ‘Il Corriere della Sera’: «If Neapolitans see a phallic work, where is the evil? The work is a hymn to vitality in an arid time, with a serious demographic decline. Gaetano Pesce would have been happy with this debate.
Given the proximity of Naples to Pompeii, the curator has taken the opportunity to evoke the customs of the ancient Roman city: «In Pompeii, phallic images were in the house, as a symbol of fertility and auspices of well-being. I repeat: in a sterile and demographically declining society, Pesce marks a countertrend. We should remember more often to use the Pulcinella mask as a creative identity and generator of hope.”
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