https://www.albertogarutti.it/opera/lopera-e-dedicata-agli-abitanti-di-buonconvento-e-a-tutti-coloro-che-anche-da-molto-lontano-vorranno-passare-di-qui-solo-con-un-pensiero0/

“Arte all’Arte 2005”, curated by Associazione Arte Continua, Chiesa SS. Pietro e Paolo, Buonconvento (SI), 2005

The work is dedicated to the inhabitants of Buonconvento and all those who, even from far away, they will want to go here just with a thought

The work is composed of a system of about 100 light bulbs installed in the left nave of the SS. Pietro e Paolo church in Buonconvento (SI). Anyone can ask for a bulb to be turned on by calling the telephone number +39 0577 806793. The cost of the phone call is donated for the construction of water purification plants in Sri Lanka.

“I thought about the church not just as a place of worship – the artist says – but also as a space permeated by centuries of tradition and culture. I thought about those who find sustenance for everyday life there, those who do not attend services but experience a religious sentiment, and others who have a more secular way of perceiving of the church as a popular expression of belonging to a civic community. I reflected on the latent need for spirituality already visible in many collective pursuits, on the need for ‘artisticity’, on how unthinkable cities would be without churches, mosques, synagogues and other sacred places”.

The work comes from the challenge, accepted by the artist, to come to terms with the themes of clientele, the limit, popular culture and the church as a place in which art has been a conveyed presence for centuries. Art, in fact, shares a sense of spirituality with religion, but nevertheless only art can respond to the various forms of “secular” mysticism that are widespread in contemporary society. Reflection on the mingling of art and spirituality is a recurring concern in a number of works by the artist, including the work done at the Certosa di Padula (SA) and the statue of the Madonna produced for the New Church of Trezzano sul Naviglio (MI).