Naples, more memes and cartoons about the work of Gaetano Pesce. Here are the new ones

In Naples, Gaetano Pesce’s art installation Tu si’ ’na cosa grande, located in Piazza Municipio, continues to cause a stir and irony among citizens and on social media. The form of the work, which appeared phallic to many, has unleashed, as we had already seen, an incessant wave of memes and satirical cartoons that seems unwilling to stop. Despite explanations provided by curator Silvana Annicchiarico and clarifications by the artist’s children, Milena and Jacopo Pesce, the work remains a constant target of mockery, now becoming a viral phenomenon.

The installation, which is supposed to be a tribute to Punchinello, an iconic figure and symbol of the Neapolitan soul, has actually generated a reading quite different from that intended by its author. Silvana Annicchiarico said that the work is perfectly in keeping with the project of Gaetano Pesce, an artist in any case known for his provocative and out-of-the-box approach. However, his intentions seem to have taken a back seat to the collective perception, which has focused on what many consider an explicit anatomical form.

Reactions were not long in coming, and in the digital age, social platforms have amplified the phenomenon. The cutting irony of Neapolitans has spilled over into an endless series of memes, cartoons and parodies targeting the work. The sculpture has been compared to a series of exaggerated objects or symbols. Every day new content appears on social media, confirming how alive is the creative vein of the Neapolitan people in turning an artistic controversy into an occasion for collective amusement.

Despite this, Gaetano Pesce’s children intervened to clarify that their father had no intention of offending Naples or proposing a trivial or disrespectful work. They reiterated how the project was actually a gesture of homage to the city and its tradition, and that the formal choice of the work was not meant to cause scandal. However, the clarification was not enough to stem the wave of irony, which continues to grow, fueled in part by the very nature of contemporary art, which often lends itself to subjective interpretations and misunderstandings.

Pesce’s sculpture, intended to recall the figure of Punchinello, a symbol of joy, contradiction and mystery, seems to have clashed with a much more immediate and earthy collective imagination. Indeed, contemporary art, with its often abstract language, not infrequently encounters resistance in the public less accustomed to decoding its deeper meanings. But it is equally true that Naples has a long history of coexisting with paradox and contradiction, and this episode, too, fits into that vein of challenge and confrontation between art and its popular interpretation.

After all, this sculpture has offered Naples a new pretext for doing what it does best: transforming every situation into a moment of collective laughter, without giving up, for better or worse, making its voice heard. And so, as the wave of memes continues to circulate unabated, Pesce’s work, willingly or unwillingly, has achieved a fame far beyond the intentions of its creator.

Naples, more memes and cartoons about the work of Gaetano Pesce. Here are the new ones

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