“Tuttomondo”, the sculpture that takes you into the labyrinth of life to rediscover the value of peace
© arcomai I Tuttomondo by Keith Haring, acrylic paint (1989, Pisa, Italy).
In art there are essentially two types of sculpture: “in rilevo” (“in relief” in Italian), with images carved on a flat surface of the same material (high relief and low relief); and “tutto tondo” (“all round” in Italian), obtaining a three-dimensional and self-supporting object independent of any background. Keith Haring (1958-1990) used to not title his works because he thought that the act of painting was a performance that ended when the artist completed the work; and since then, this no longer belonged to him but to the observer, who was free to give the meaning that seemed most appropriate to him/her. Yet one of his latest murals bears the name of Tuttomondo (“The whole world” in Italian). I am referring to the artwork, painted in acrylic in 1989 on the external wall of the rectory of the Church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Pisa (Italy). The mural (covering an area of approximately 180sqm) tells of harmony and peace in the world according to a sequence of interlocking figures in which each character portrays a different “aspect” of the world in peace: a splendid hymn to life a few months earlier from his announced death; a message of extraordinary relevance for the current events.
Like a sculpture on the wall (high relief and low relief), whose surface is entirely covered according to a narration that intertwines 30 stories here, 30 characters who travel the path of life. However, the reading of this route is not linear (from one side to the other) according to traditional sculpture but it follows a labyrinthine journey. The labyrinth is a structure, usually of vast dimensions, built in such a way that it is difficult for those who enter it to find the exit. In ancient times it was mostly “unicursal”, i.e. consisting of a single convoluted path that led inexorably to its center. In Tuttomondo the labyrinth is “multicursal” and, since there is no access, there is consequently no way out. The mind remains trapped inside the interpretation of the multiple and exponential relational combinations between the characters that symbolize the humanity. Here the “fresco” becomes “in relief”, art is abstraction that becomes a “all round” monument; while the city is celebrating itself as a mere background.
© arcomai I Tuttomondo by Keith Haring, acrylic paint (1989, Pisa, Italy).