HEALTH, ART AND SPIRITUALITY: THE INSTALLATION OF THE ‘CUBIC METER OF INFINITY’ BY MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO AT THE CANCER RESEARCH CENTER OF MARSEILLE

Abstract

Periods of hospitalization lead to intense questioning about the future, life, and death. During these moments, the hospital, a place of care and hospitality, can and should offer patients and their loved ones spaces for peace and meditation, where emotions and spirituality can be expressed naturally and discretely. This is what guided the installation of the metrocubo d’infinito (Cubic Meter of Infinity) by the Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto at the Institut Paoli Calmettes, the Centre Régional de Lutte contre le Cancer de Marseille-France. Inaugurated in 2000, this meeting place of spirituality and health, revolving around the work of Pistoletto, is a multi-faith space for meditation and prayer. Arranged in open and contiguous alcoves, it welcomes patients of all faiths and agnostics, allowing them to meditate on the painful questions raised by the encounter with illness in a radically new environment, the beauty of which invites spiritual reflection beyond the strict practice of religious cults.