It is with great enthusiasm that I have given my approval to host and promote Andrea Benetti’s project “Colors and Sounds of the Origins” within the spaces of the University of Bari, presented to me with great passion by Ms. Stefania Cassano. I strongly believe that contributing to the dissemination of a message of peace and respect for human rights—intrinsic to Andrea Benetti’s primal painting—is an excellent way to promote culture and art.
Analyzing the message that the Bolognese artist conveys through his work—and even more explicitly through the Manifesto of Neo-Cave Art (which he presented at the 53rd Venice Biennale and which is now approaching its ten-year anniversary)—one can discern a strong desire for change and a push towards a “new beginning.” This aspiration was foreseen by the artist years in advance of a widespread sentiment that today permeates much of the creative and cultural world. Such a feeling is characteristic of times in history marked by profound transformations, which the most perceptive artists often manage to grasp in advance.
I had already admired the Bolognese artist in 2011 when he created an original exhibition inside the Castellana Caves, uniquely projecting images of Neo-Cave works onto rocky walls—alongside the paintings displayed on self-supporting panels. He was the first in Italy to undertake this innovative approach, which I later discovered had inspired similar initiatives in other venues. So, congratulations to this innovative Italian painter!
Our University is proud to host and analyze both his art and the philosophy that underpins it. In addition to the exhibition at the former Palazzo delle Poste, our institution will also host a seminar on the Manifesto of Neo-Cave Art, both events curated and organized by Stefania Cassano. The seminar will feature the active participation and valuable collaboration of Professor Donato Coppola, a researcher in Prehistoric Archaeology and Palethnology.
In this regard, it is no surprise that our University is interested in this project. If we examine the cultural activities of recent years related to Andrea Benetti’s art, we will notice that his work has been—and continues to be—the subject of research and seminars at various institutions, including the Department of Cultural Heritage at the University of Salento (Professor Massimo Guastella), the Department of Visual Arts (D.A.R.) at the University of Bologna (Professor Silvia Grandi), the Faculty of Education Sciences at Roma Tre University (Professor Gianfranco Bartalotta), the Faculty of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences within the Department of Humanities at the University of Ferrara (Professor Marco Peresani), the Faculty of Anthropology at the University of Bergamo (Dr. Serena Macrelli), and the Johns Hopkins University (under the direction of Professor Kenneth H. Keller) for the publication of Benetti’s book “Unusual Exploration Within Speed.”
So, good luck for this high-level cultural initiative, which complements the academic activities regularly carried out at our University.