A series of events curated by Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte, Pistoletto, Accademia Unidee, and Fashion B.E.S.T.
On July 22, Lenzing presented an exciting new exhibition and series of events curated by the art institution Cittadellarte, the Fondazione Pistoletto, Accademia Unidee, and Fashion B.E.S.T., at the Castello Gomba, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Châtillon, northern Italy.
The exhibition explores the connection between art, sustainability, and technological innovation, highlighting the Glacial Threads: From Forest to Future Textiles, alongside works by the acclaimed Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, a figurehead of the Arte Povera movement, including his Segno Arte structures. Other featured works by Pistoletto include Il Tronco, Metamorfosi, and La Mela Reintegrata, along with Venus of the Rags — one of the artist's most celebrated works. We spoke with Pistoletto about the project and his artistic practice, which has long been influenced by sustainability.
What themes concerning the relationship between human beings and the natural world do you seek to explore through your practice? And how has the vision of sustainability influenced your artistic practice over the years?
I created the Formula of Creation. I conceived and developed the Formula of Creation, which, specifically in the realm of sustainability, is symbolised by the ‘Third Paradise’. This symbol is composed of three circles: the two outer circles represent the relationship between natural life and artificial life. The natural world and the artificial life we have produced must come together in the central circle, where nature and artifice merge in a balanced way. This is the commitment, the project that has been recognised by the United Nations and by the most advanced institutions working on sustainability.
The Venus of the Rags is one of your most acclaimed works, created over 50 years ago. Has your relationship with this piece changed over time?
Yes, the relationship between the Venus of the Rags and the world has evolved over time. When I first created it in 1967, the "mountain of rags" on a global scale had reached a certain level, but since then, it has grown disproportionately. Today, the issue highlighted by the Venus of the Rags has worsened in an unexpectedly dramatic way. So while the commitment began in 1967, the problem has expanded, and so has our engagement. Not only have we not given up, but through Cittadellarte, we actively work to develop specific initiatives, such as Statodellarte and the union of enterprises for sustainability.
What are your impressions of the glacier project?
The glacier project demonstrates great willpower and should be seen as an important intervention in response to a real need, both in practical terms, such as tourism and economic activity, and in the broader context of sustainability. Today, we must find a true balance between the economy and sustainability. Initiatives like this are vital, and if they prove effective on a local scale, they can serve as powerful examples for other areas of artificial creation.
How do the works you selected for this exhibition dialogue with the glacier project? And what message do you hope visitors will take away from this exhibition?
This exhibition represents the intellectual and artistic path I’ve followed, rooted in a commitment to connect art with the phenomenology of science. It fosters a new practical ability to shape a way of living that is urgently needed, one that is based on awareness and responsibility. Art, when it is born from the freedom of creation, carries with it the highest form of responsibility.
Has your vision of Arte Povera changed over the years, especially in light of today’s social issues? What do you believe is the most enduring message of Arte Povera for younger generations and for the public at large?
Arte Povera does not mean lack, poverty, or deprivation. It means a good life, one without the waste of productive excess that leads to today’s devastation, such as the overwhelming invasion of rags, plastic, and concrete. We have reached a point of physical anthropization of the planet, and in doing so we are genuinely risking bringing the planet to its end. On one side, we have atomic weapons that can annihilate everything in a moment. On the other, the hyperproduction of superfluous goods. Arte Povera stands against the superfluous and leads us back to the essential, to the deep phenomenology of being, like planting a seed in the earth. The seed splits open, sprouts, and becomes a tree. That is the phenomenology of nature. What we need now is to create an artificial phenomenology, one that is fundamentally essential and not built on the superfluous.
Do you have a message for young artists or for artists in general?
I believe artists must develop their own autonomous creative power, but not only with the goal of achieving personal success. They should strive to connect with other artists and with the world, across the various sectors of social life. In this way, we can build a new society and a new way of living together.
