They call it contemporary art, but the recent Punchinello sculpture unveiled in Piazza Municipio in Naples created by sculptor Gaetano Pesce has fueled not only curiosity and jokes but also much criticism.
The reason for all this? Well, one only has to look at the famous work to immediately realize why it has created so much curiosity.
Many people looking at the opera at first associated it not with the very famous mask of Neapolitan comedy, but a big and huge phallus!
And how can you blame them?
The tall, cylindrical shape, illuminated even at night, is reminiscent of the auspicious and prosperity symbol against evil spirits typical of the ancient city of Pompeii.
There are also those who say that the work created by Gaetano Pesce has little or nothing to do with the installation in Piazza Municipio.
That giant illuminated thing that stands ahead of the Maschio Angioino is a reinterpretation of a different work, conceived and realized in other sizes and shapes.
But who knows if this symbol of good fortune for the ancients will prove lucky for the whole city of Naples regardless of its shape that causes so much discussion.
Pulcinella contemporary sculpture on display in Naples
The 12-meter-tall work will remain on display in Piazza Municipio in front of the Maschio Angioino until December 20.
And it officially takes the place of Venus in rags, another much-criticized work.
The sculpture created by Gaetano Pesce, who exclusively created Punchinello’s dress due to his early death in New York last April 3, consists of two sculptures.
A Punchinello suit, resting on a 12-meter-high metal structure held in balance by cables on which synthetic flowers of different colors are twisted, which lights up inside at night. And a 5-meter-high red heart, itself internally illuminated and pierced by a metal arrow supporting it, stuck on a triangular-shaped wooden platform.
The sculpture entitled “Tu si ‘na cosa grande” is actually a tribute conceived by the artist of the relationship between Punchinello and the hearts of Neapolitans.
But many people do not see this tribute to the city of Naples in the sculpture; the tall, cylindrical shape distracts from the representation of the Neapolitan mask, and to many it looks like just a huge phallus, moreover, even illuminated at night.
But in spite of the criticism and jokes, the sculpture in just a few days has already become so famous that so many tourists are going in front of the Maschio Angioino to take a photo or make a video next to the famous work.
A great start for the city of Naples and for the great artist who will be remembered for the most peculiar and strange sculpture in contemporary art.
