The first complete summary of Pistoletto's The Third Heaven project: exhibitions, installations, workshops, publications and encounters show how Pistoletto's new artistic project has developed.
The book begins with a hitherto unpublished dialog between the art critic Achille Bonito Oliva and the archaeologist Salvatore Settis, under the penetrating gaze of the Master, Michelangelo Pistoletto. It then goes on to describe, in chronological order, all the events associated with the development of the ‘Third Heaven’ project, from its beginnings in 2003 until October 2012, and the installation still on display in the garden of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. Exhibitions, installations, workshops, publications and encounters show how Pistoletto’s new artistic project has developed, and how it began when he drew a new symbol to denote infinity, the symbol of the ‘Third Heaven’. The first Third Heaven project was installed at the Venice Biennial Exhibition in 2005, on the island of San Servolo. Since then, the exhibition has toured all round Italy and even visited some cities outside Italy, such as Marseilles, Tunis, London and Moscow, attracting institutions and the public. The artist describes his project as follows: ” […] The Third Heaven project consists in helping artifice, that is, science, technology, art, culture and politics, to restore life to the Earth. The ‘Third Heaven’ refers to a transition towards a new level of planetary culture and civilization, which is vital if we are to ensure the survival of the human race. The Third Heaven is the new myth which will lead everyone to assume personal responsibility for the future at this vitally important moment […]”