Giant 'phallic' installation causes stir in Naples

By: ansa.it

Oct 09 2024
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Giant 'phallic' installation c

A giant installation by the late designer, sculptor and architect Gaetano Pesce is causing a stir in his native Naples with locals, tourists and Web users making wry comments on its allegedly phallic appearance, especially when viewed from behind.
    The 12-metre-tall work by Pesce, who died in New York aged 83 in April, is a 'revisitation' of the costume of the classic Neapolitan commedia dell'arte character Pulcinella, with two red hearts pierced by an arrow.
    It is called, in Neapolitan dialect, 'Tu si ' na cosa grande' (You Are A Big Thing).
    It has risen in Piazza Municipio, near the iconic castle Maschio Angioino, for a few days now but will be formally inaugurated by officials including Mayor Gaetano Manfredi Wednesday night.
    "I think that contemporary art and contemporary installations should spur debate," said Manfredi on the fuss the work has caused.
    "So the fact that it is being discussed means that the work has achieved its goal".
    The mayor recalled that the artist, Pesce. "was one of the great world artists, and of Neapolitan origin, who has unfortunately passed away and this is the last work he designed, a work that has left a mark, that has the city talking and for us this is a positive fact".