The Children and The Ship of Tolerance
26 SEP 2017 · By Paolo Conti.
In front of the “Ship of Tolerance”, his multicolored sails swelled by the wind of Capalbio, between the sea and the hinterland, comes to mind the famous phrase of Pablo Picasso: “All the children are born artists, the difficult thing is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ” The panels are rich in strong colors and slogans: “Everyone and a Genius!”, “We All Want It All,” “Love and Peace,” “Tolerance.” Blue sea, Capalbio castle, green trees, hearts, rainbows.
And the message contained in the installation work of the artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov arrived on July 7 in the hills of Garavicchio in Capalbio, in the land of the estate much loved by the publisher Carlo Caracciolo and curated by his daughter and heir, Jacaranda Caracciolo Falck. She was with her son Alessandro Borghese to support the project, which was completed on Sunday with a large open-air festival open to the children, authors of the 60 sails square panels, next to the eccentric Tarot Garden, the magical work of Niki de Saint Phalle, born of the friendship of Carlo and Nicola Caracciolo with the French artist who disappeared in 2002, totaling 120,000 visitors every year. The big boat (8 tons of wood, 20 meters long, 6 meters wide and 13 high) was created in 2005 to communicate peace, warmth, exchange of cultures and has been installed in Venice, Miami, St. Moritz, Havana, Moscow, New York. Thousands of children have decorated it, responding to the walls raised by adults.
Now the “Ship of Tolerance” sails the sails at Capalbio after two months of a cultural event that Capiola Mayor Luigi Bellumori calls “extraordinary”: “300 children were involved directed by the school teacher, Anna Maria Carbone, who leads the school including Capalbio Manciano, and the teaching team. We have provided the kids the municipal gym for painting. An amassed and choral experience that united the children in their diversity of geographical origin ».
Very happy the president of the Niki de Saint Phalle Foundation, his nephew Bloum Cardenas: “It is a wonderful time for this place, it all corresponds to the spirit of Niki, a great artist who seemed fragile and managed to be alone in a fantastic company.”
The enthusiastic and also artist, Emilia Kabakov: “This place is magical, a unique atmosphere, there is the green of the sea and that of the countryside. I consider this installation a miracle… ”
Very pleased with the protagonist of Capalbio’s company, Jacaranda Caracciolo Falck: “I grew up seeing the building of the Tarot Garden and I’ve always been looking for something to talk to, to put another piece of contemporary art here in Maremma. When I met the “Ship of Tolerance” it was love at first sight. Art and openness, integration, never isolation. This art ship is an important testimony also here in Capalbio, after the controversy over immigrants. He has worked a lot of gcntc on the job. Another call to Niki, who wanted to use only local artisans for his Tarot Garden. ” Now the ship probably enters Palermo, which in 2018 hosts the 12th Manifesta, the biennial of nomadic art in Europe. And Kabakov, from October 18, will be the protagonists of a retrospective at Tate Modern in London. Thanks to the “Ship of Tolerance”, Capalbio has become a major world capital of contemporary art.