Mutanda Thermometer: Measuring the Fever of Globalization

Measuring the Fever of Globalization

When Subjectivity Meets Science: The Standardized Pulse of Intimacy 

The work "Mutanda Thermometer" is a central piece in the conceptual production of Fanty Building (Enrico Thanhoffer Munico). It serves as a true manifesto for the principles of Globism and the Mutanda Buildings movement, exploring the tension between universal measurement and individual emotion.

The work is a striking example of a "semantic short-circuit," achieved by fusing visual and conceptual elements in sharp contrast:

• Form and Function: The object reproduces a piece of underwear (high-waisted briefs, the archetype of intimacy and the private sphere) and transforms it into a functional tool: the thermometer, a symbol of measurement, objectivity, and science. This forced juxtaposition exposes corporeal vulnerability to rigid scientific evaluation.

• Chromatic Composition: The surface is covered in a psychedelic pattern of swirling shapes and saturated colors (orange, red, blue, yellow). This irrational Pop aesthetic clashes violently with the cold, linear, and rational mercury column. The decoration acts as an artificial skin—a chaotic yet unified "patchwork."

• Hybrid Aesthetic: Moving between design, sculpture, and conceptual art, the intimate element is decontextualized and monumentalized. It shifts from hidden to exposed, from a common object to an aesthetic fetish.

Globism is the artistic-philosophical movement founded by Thanhoffer to denounce global homogenization and the loss of individual identity, inviting a rediscovery of fantasy.

• Fragmentation and Global Unity: The mosaic pattern, composed of irregular tiles and diverse colors, symbolizes globalization itself. The world (the globe) is a collection of fragmented cultures and identities forced to coexist within a single form (the garment). It represents "chaotic harmony"—the aesthetic reality imposed by the global world.

• Critique of Global Objectivity: The thermometer, the ultimate universal tool, represents the homogenization of measurement systems and the imposition of a standardized scientific "truth." By applying this objectivity to the underwear (the realm of subjectivity), the artist suggests that even our most intimate sensations are now forced to conform to a global scale of evaluation.

The Mutanda Buildings concept aims to satirize the self-imposed seriousness of modern architecture.

• Underwear as the "First Home": Thanhoffer considers underwear the "first house" of man—the membrane separating the deepest self from the world.

• The Architecture of Intimacy: The work extends the principles of Mutanda Buildings to the act of measurement. By inserting the thermometer (an element typical of building climate control) into the garment, the artist fuses structural necessity with sensual identity. Intimacy is no longer just the facade of the building; it is its internal temperature, made visible to the world.

The "Mutanda Thermometer" is a visual satire that uses the contrast between the private (the briefs) and the objective (the thermometer) to comment on the superficiality of the contemporary world. It questions the boundaries between body, science, and identity in the global dimension.

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