On Friday, October 4, at 3 pm, Mariagrazia Pontorno’s “Golden Roots” artwork will be inaugurated in Rivodutri. The initiative is promoted in collaboration with the Fondazione Mondo Digitale as part of the Regione Lazio’s “Art on Walks” Call.
ART TAKES ROOT IN RIVODUTRI – HISOTRY, NATURE AND SPIRITUALITY
Art on Walks: Mariagrazia Pontorno’s artwork accompanies pilgrims to the Monumental Beech Tree of San Francesco. “Golden Roots” will be inaugurated on Friday, October 4 at 3 pm. The art project, organised by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, is one of seven selected by the Regione Lazio to promote pilgrimage routes.
Is it possible for a work of art in bronze, an alloy of inert materials, to accompany walkers? Yes, if we’re speaking about Mariagrazia Pontorno’s “Golden Roots,” one of seven selected by the Regione Lazio as part of the “Art on Walks” Call. The three sculptures that will be placed around the Monumental Beech Tree of San Francesco in Rivodutri (Province of Rieti) will be inaugurated on Friday, October 4 at 3 pm. Besides the artist, Mayor Michele Paniconi, Regione Lazio Councillor Fabio Refrigeri and the Director General of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, Mirta Michilli, will be present at the ceremony together with students from the Rivodutri Primary School who developed an interesting project on the idea of roots together with the artist.
The three pieces that compose the art work, the three golden roots, will integrate into the landscape and the pilgrim’s walk, emerging from the ground to indicate the way and provide a comfortable seat for those who choose to admire the surroundings of the beech tree that, according to legend, protected the saint from a sudden thunderstorm.
The only element that allows one to distinguish the golden roots from the vegetation is their golden finish. “It’s a nod to the extraordinary event and the precious tradition that embodies the sacred,” explains the artist. “As if the plant’s roots ran along the entire walk, emerging now and then to indicate the route.”
“Just as the beech tree served the saint, the sculpture is at the service of hte pilgrims who toil along the walk. The bonze is modelled to welcome men, through the only true miracel, the ability to imagine what is possible,” says Mariagrazia Pontorno.
The sculptures tooks twelve months to mould from the “immaterial to the material” through a series of steps: design and 3D model printing, moulding and installation. The artist worked in the Fab Lab at the Rome Phyrtual Innovation Gym with specialised technicians, makers and creatives, using digital manufacturing tools to print a polymer 3D model in the right shape. Production then moved to Pietrasanta (Lucca) where, immersed in nature, the roots were shaped from clay, rubber, wax and then bronze, respecting the settling time for each material. Numerous visits to Rivodutri served to understand where and how to place the work that would become an integral part of the pilgrim experience on the San Francesco Walk.
