Michelangelo Pistoletto
The Third Paradise
21 December 2012
www.rebirth-day.org
www.cittadellarte.it
rebirth-day [at] cittadellarte.it
Rebirth-Day: the first worldwide day of rebirth
A great celebration throughout the world—a vital, living, breathing symbol of a new beginning.
December 21st, the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and the summer soltice in the Southern, is a day celebrated by mankind since time immemorial.
A fateful “end of the world” connotation, as widespread as it is unfounded, has been attributed to this day in 2012, proposing a theme that is recurrent in mythologies and religions as well as in the literature of fantasy and science fiction.
All imaginative factors aside, this date can take on a symbolic meaning, as it effectively corresponds to a climactic phase of human history. We are progressing steadily toward an inevitable collapse—the science is there to prove it.
The whole of human society is now in the reckoning and so must face a historic transition, a complete change.
Humanity has gone through two paradises. The first, in which it integrated fully with nature; the second, in which it expanded into an artificial world of its own, which grew until it came into conflict with the natural world. It is time to begin the third stage, in which humanity will reconcile and unite nature and artifice, creating a new balance at every level and in every area of society: “an evolutionary step in which the human intelligence finds ways to live in harmony with the intelligence of nature” (Michelangelo Pistoletto).
A new perspective opens up that involves everyone, without exception, in the daily effort to implement the process of rebirth—each according to his or her abilities and possibilities.
On 21 December 2012, let us meet in streets and squares all over the world, and on the Web, to take part in the great inaugural celebration of the Third Paradise.
Participation in the Rebirth-day represents a personal commitment to the process of change.
Let’s take this extraordinary opportunity to joyfully and eagerly create our future destiny together. Let’s participate, on this day, with whatever form of expression we choose (performance, music, sound, installations, images…) in a great common artwork.
The actions, activities, and interventions oriented toward rebirth will be carried out throughout 2012, on the celebration day, 21 December, and in 2013 as well.
The Third Paradise is a secular undertaking and is not associated with any religious denomination.
How to participate:
The first form of participation is to talk up the initiative: tell your friends and acquaintances about it.
Undertake actions, activities, and interventions inspired by rebirth—starting, for instance, from the sign/symbol of the Third Paradise, which can be presented in different forms in different languages and materials.
Share your actions, activities, and interventions on Youtube, Facebook, and Flickr.
Join right now in the rebirth with a little exercise in renunciation—a renunciation not imposed by religious precepts, but taken up as a free choice that strengthens personal awareness. Global change is an outcome of individual energies. Announce what you renounce on the site, www.rebirth-day.org.
A selection of the materials published on the web will be presented at the exhibition, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Année un – le paradis sur terre (Michelangelo Pistoletto, Year One – Paradise on Earth), to be held at the Louvre, Paris, in spring 2013.
Cittadellarte, Biella. Working since 1994 for the responsible transformation of society.
*Image above:
Coming together to create a global artwork – Third Paradise. Courtesy of Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto and Castello di Rivoli.
