In contemporary art‘s fragmentation, from the abstract to the conceptual, the work’s material may transform, almost disappear or, on the contrary, become the subject itself.
For instance, Yves Klein who gave his name to a new blue or Pino Pascali with his work with water.
Pino Pascali (1935-1968 ) was one of the greatest artists of the first half of the twentieth century.
His piece “32 metri quadrati di mare circa” [32 Square Meters of Sea] was shown for the first time in the contemporary art exhibition.
“The space of the Image” organized in the Renaissance building Palazzo Trinci in Foligno in 1967. In an interview from that year, Pino Pascali said: “I want to do the same things with water. Water fascinates me a great deal, it becomes like a mirror, water has so many things.”
The work belongs to the National Gallery of Rome.
”32 mq di mare circa” Pino Pascali’s installation, made up of 30 galvanized aluminum containers filled with water.
The work is regularly re-installed inside the gallery, the water emptied, the containers cleaned and filled with the blue-colored water.
There are notes that Pascali left, giving general instructions for maintaining the work.
He used methylene blue for this installation. This synthetic dye is based on aniline and highly water soluble.
Methylene blue is also a fascinating substance that was widely used as an antiseptic before the advent of penicillin.