Arnaldo Pomodoro, whose bronze spheres decorate prominent public spaces around the world, dies at 98
Arnaldo Pomodoro, one of Italy's most prominent contemporary artists whose bronze spheres decorate iconic public spaces from the Vatican to the United Nations, has died at age 98, his foundation said Monday.
Pomodoro died at home in Milan on Sunday, the eve of his 99th birthday, according to a statement from Carlotta Montebello, director general of the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation.
Pomodoro's massive spheres are instantly recognizable: shiny, smooth bronze globes with clawed out interiors that Pomodoro has said referred to the superficial perfection of exteriors and the troubled complexity of interiors.
In a note of condolences, Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said Pomodoro's 'wounded' spheres 'speak to us today of the fragility and complexity of the human and the world.'
The Vatican's sphere, which occupies a central place in the Pigna courtyard of the Vatican Museums, features an internal mechanism that rotates with the wind. 'In my work I see the cracks, the eroded parts, the destructive potential that emerges from our time of disillusionment,' the Vatican quoted Pomodoro as saying about its sphere.
The United Nations in New York received a 3.3-meter (10 foot, eight inch) diameter 'Sphere Within Sphere' sculpture as a gift from Italy in 1996. The UN sphere refers to the coming of the new millennium, the UN said: 'a smooth exterior womb erupted by complex interior forms,' and 'a promise for the rebirth of a less troubled and destructive world,' Pomodoro said of it.
Other spheres are located at museums around the world and outside the Italian foreign ministry, which has the original work that Pomodoro created in 1966 for the Montreal Expo that began his monumental sculpture project.
Pomodoro was born in Montefeltro, Italy, on June 23, 1926. In addition to his spheres, he designed theatrical sets, land projects and machines. He had multiple retrospectives and taught at Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley and Mills College, according to his biography on the foundation website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
The Genius Tomato Sauce Upgrade Italians Have Always Known About
There's a better tomato sauce—and it's been hiding in plain sight. Passata, Italy's go-to smooth tomato purée, has slowly but steadily made its way into mainstream American grocery stores over the past several years, no longer the exclusive domain of Italian delis and specialty importers. This shift is largely due to increased distribution from major brands like Mutti and Cento. That said, it's still often lamentably relegated to the bottom shelf of the canned vegetable aisle, hidden beneath jars of premade pasta sauces—overlooked, underused, and misunderstood. But passata deserves top billing, and it's time to make the most of it. Sometimes labeled tomato purée or tomato sauce, passata is traditionally made with late summer, peak-season tomatoes, as a way to preserve them. It's a smooth, strained purée, free of skins and seeds, and typically sold in tall glass bottles. Made from ripe, high-quality tomatoes, it's left unseasoned aside from a touch of salt and, occasionally, a few basil leaves. Its natural sweetness and acidity are already beautifully balanced, so it doesn't need much doctoring. Homemade passata is a wonderful thing if you have time and ripe tomatoes, but with excellent store-bought options available now in the US, it's not essential to start from scratch. Unlike American-style store-bought tomato purées which are cooked until they have a thicker, more concentrated consistency and have a stewed-tomato flavor, passata is brighter, lighter, and far more reminiscent of fresh tomatoes. It also stands apart from jarred sauces. While jarred options often come loaded with garlic, herbs, sugar, and emulsifiers or stabilizers, passata is a blank canvas—ready to soak up whatever flavors you throw at it. But it's also vibrant enough to be prepared simply, with just a few pantry staples. And while I think passata outshines canned sauce in flavor, both are equally convenient for getting dinner on the table quickly. Only one, though, is nonna-approved. Before it became widely available, at Serious Eats, we'd often recommend puréeing canned whole tomatoes for smooth sauces. That still works—but passata skips the blender, the strainer, and most importantly, the cleanup. Passata is my weeknight workhorse. I keep two bottles on hand at all times. On nights when I don't want to think too hard, I heat olive oil with a heaping pile of sliced garlic, pour in the passata, season with chili flakes, and let it simmer just long enough for the flavors to come together—it takes less than 20 minutes. I toss it with whatever pasta I have, finish with a generous dollop of ricotta or a mound of grated Parmesan, drizzle on more olive oil, crack some black pepper over the top, and scatter torn basil if I have it on hand. It's also the base for classics like pasta with spicy 'nduja-tomato sauce and pasta alla zozzona (rigatoni with sausage, guanciale, and egg yolks). Basically, whenever a smooth sauce is desired, passata is a great go-to. As I noted above, passata is far from new—it's a staple in most Italian kitchens. But as it became more accessible in the US, it quickly became one of my indispensable pantry staples. Cento and Mutti are solid, widely available picks, but there are plenty of other great options out there—just check the label to make sure it lists nothing more than tomatoes, salt, and occasionally basil. It's the one tomato product that carries me from winter through spring and early summer, holding me over until August tomatoes finally arrive. So if you see a tall bottle of passata on your next grocery run, grab it. Then grab two more. Read the original article on Serious Eats
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Wall Street Journal
‘The Buried City' Review: Pompeii on Display
After lying inert beneath volcanic ash for nearly 17 centuries, the Roman city of Pompeii, near Naples, is today a site of continuous change. New discoveries emerge constantly, even as conservators struggle to protect what's been found from damage by weather, looters and crowds. Articles and books about these findings have steadily appeared as excavations expand into parts of the town that remain buried. In 2021 Gabriel Zuchtriegel, a German classicist then in his late 30s, was given the enormous task of directing this dynamic site. His youth and non-Italian origins made him a controversial choice; some scholars signed a petition of protest or resigned from the academic advisory board in an effort to stop the appointment. In 'The Buried City,' a meditation on both the ruins of Pompeii and his life as a pioneering archaeologist, Mr. Zuchtriegel shows that his selection was an inspired choice. Whether exploring the circumstances that led him to choose his career or depicting a bustling town of the high Roman Empire, he speaks with passion, wonder and deep humanity. 'Pompeii is like a rip in the screen, through which we have the opportunity to take a peek behind the official version of history,' writes Mr. Zuchtriegel. He describes in vivid detail his 2021 discovery of a small room containing the remains of three beds and other quotidian objects. Perhaps it was the dwelling, as well as the workspace, of slaves. A newspaper described the discovery as 'the rarity of the everyday,' and Mr. Zuchtriegel takes the phrase as a rallying cry. 'The 'rarity of the everyday' could also be the title for my personal access to archaeology and Pompeii,' he writes. 'What we found here was different, precisely because it wasn't a temple, grave or palace,' says Mr. Zuchtriegel, just some 50 square feet 'of everyday hardship.' He recounts how he noticed a nail on the wall for hanging an oil lamp and, beneath it, a white painted rectangle designed to reflect the lamplight and increase illumination. Moved by this simple effort to lighten a dark existence, he ponders how the room's occupants, who no doubt lacked paint and brushes, got that rectangle made. It's one of many instances where he reimagines the lives of Rome's downtrodden.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Fusion between culture and modernity as children dance in Kenya's refugee camp
KALOBEYEI, Kenya (AP) — Beads of sweat drip from the faces of young girls and boys as they dance to the rhythm of traditional drums and open calabashes, while their peers watch them in awe. These are refugee children, some who were born in one of Africa's largest camps — Kakuma, located in northern Kenya, where more than 300,000 refugees' livelihoods have been affected by funding cuts that have halved monthly food rations. The children use the Acholi traditional dance as a distraction from hunger and have perfected a survival skill to skip lunches as they stretch their monthly food rations that are currently at 30% of the U.N nutritional recommendation per person. The Acholi people, mostly from Uganda and South Sudan, are among refugees who live in Kakuma camp, which was established in 1992 as a safe haven for people fleeing conflict from dozens of east African countries. For a moment, the melodious sound of one of the refugee mothers stops the playground buzz of activity as dozens of children sit down to enjoy the traditional dance performance. The colorful swings doting the community center at Kakuma's Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement were donated by a Swiss organization, Terre des hommes, which still manages the playground aptly named 'Furaha' — Swahili for Happiness. But the happiness of these children isn't guaranteed now as funding cuts have affected operations here. Less resources and fewer staff are available to engage the children and ensure their safety. One of the dancers, Gladis Amwony, has lived in Kakuma for 8 years now. In recent years, she has started taking part in the Acholi traditional dances to keep her Ugandan roots alive. The now 20-year-old doesn't imagine ever going back to Uganda and has no recollection of life in her home village. 'I'm happiest when I dance, I feel connected to my ancestors,' the soft-spoken Amwony says after her dance session. While Amwony and her friends are looking for a cultural connection, just about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from their village in neighboring Kalobeyei Village 3, some boys are in touch with modernity. The five boys have been practicing a one-of-a-kind dance where they mimic robots, complete with face masks that hide their human faces. They make their sharp synchronized moves that they have been perfecting for months. The boys will be part of performances that will be showcased during this year's World Refugee Day, as an example of the talent and resilience that exists among the refugee community. This younger generation of dancers make precision moves in a small hall with play and learning items stored in a cabinet that is branded with an American flag, an indication that it was donated by the U.S government. Such donations are now scarce, with the United States having cut down on funding in March. These cuts have affected operations here, with the future stardom hopes for these children dimming by the day. The center, which previously featured daily programs such as taekwondo and ballet, may not be operational in a few months if the funding landscape remains as is. 'We are now reducing some of the activities because we are few. The staff are few and even per day we only have one staff remaining in the center and it is really hard for him/her to conduct 500 children,' said John Papa, a community officer for Terre des hommes in Kalobeyei Village 3. These programs do more than entertain the children — they keep them away from issues such as child labor, abuse and crime which as a major concern for humanitarian organizations in Kakuma. And as the children dance and play beneath the sweltering sun, the only hope is that these child friendly spaces remain operational for years. ___ For more on Africa and development: The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
