The animal and vegetable Heart of Marcantonio lives in the forest

There is always a first time. The one that involves Parco nazionale d’Abruzzo from the first of September is called Animale - Vegetale (Il Cuore), a site specific art installation by Marcantonio that marks the inauguration of Arteparco: a sustainable art assignement given every year to a different artist, with the specific aim to create a dialogue with the ancient forests of the park. A conversation that will cease once nature will take full control of the work of art by “eating it alive”, and transforming it into something that resembles the past shape only slightly. A new piece that will be part of the Unesco world heritage, who had received the honor in 2017. An  art installation itself: “to be protected and safeguarded with the same care reserved to the Bernini’s sculptures and the Coliseum”, says the president Antonio Carrara.

Not a static site made of marble or rock, an alive and pulsating organic lifeform. That’s why the sculpture by Marcantonio, made in environmental scale, and developed in symbiosis with a tree, depicts one of his the dearest themes, the heart. One of the first subjects a child draws. Because of its soft, immediate and universal recognizable shape. The way Marcantonio interprets it is however anatomical, and the result is between a real heart and its immagination. With tree branches as veins: “To remind us that the vegetal and animal world are intertwined”, he affirms. The only thing left to do now is planning a visit starting September. Arteparco, a project conceived by public relations firm Paridevitale together with Ente Parco and the Comune di Pescasseroli, offers also a different way of experience the site and Animale - Vegetale (Il Cuore): by sustainable bikes (offered by BMW). Everything is documented by the art-only tv channel Sky Arte, the fourth partner in the Arteparco development.