Maurizio Nannucci, All Art Has Been Contemporary, 1999/2000, neon lights.  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Maurizio Nannucci, All Art Has Been Contemporary, 1999/2000, neon lights.  Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence (2010 - photo by Belladonna della Viola)

Maurizio Nannucci, All Art Has Been Contemporary, 1999/2000, neon lights.  Altes Museum, Berlin (2009 - photo by Daniela Scharnowski)

I first encountered Maurizio Nannucci’s neon installation in Florence.  My immediate reaction was, “WTF, how profound!”  Nannucci’s message can, in one sense, be interpreted as a tongue-in-cheek snub at contemporary Italian perception and reception of any art post-Renaissance/Baroque.  On another level, the sign’s dictum is especially relevant for museums with large, historic, and particularly encyclopedic collections, not to mention those that are on the cutting edge of acquiring contemporary art. Read more about his piece on the MFA Boston website.  The next time I teach an art history survey, Nannucci’s neon lights will feature among the opening discussion.